Horsepower may well be the accepted global unit of measurement of power. However, as many vehicles with high horsepower fail to perform in the sand, how can their performance be measured in an environment unique to a desert? Nissan attempted to answer this question with a new unit of measurement dubbed camelpower.
Desert off-road driving in the Middle East is practically a sport. For years car brands have looked at horsepower to measure desert capabilities, but on the mighty dunes, that has not proved enough. The GTR is the perfect example of a car that has high horsepower and zero desert capabilities.
Nissan United Middle East has partnered with National Geographic to present camelpower in a short documentary. The campaign to promote the effort has been developed by TBWA\Raad.
A concept that has been in the work for more than a year and a half now, camelpower is positioned as a new measurement unit for desert performance. Much as horsepower is based on a horse, this new unit is based on a true desert beast and icon of the middle east region, the camel.
The concept, developed by Nissan Engineers, has attracted the complete support of the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA). The ESMA even plan to take this unit to a global ISO accreditation and get all car brands to apply it to their SUV desert models.