COEUR d'ALENE - A company with headquarters here will unveil the latest prototype of its ATAV - All Terrain Amphibious Vehicle - this month.

The good news is that because the company is in Kootenai County, all sales taxes from sales to the public will be reported here. With a starting price of $175,000 that could be significant.

The bad news is that production will be in southern Idaho, and the first public viewing will be in Boise at the Western Idaho Fair Aug. 20-29.

"We were looking for manufacturing space, and required (existing) 45,000 square feet, plus 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of office space," said Rand Lewis, chief executive officer of ATAV Inc., a subsidiary of Transnational Strategic Solutions. "We were not interested in capital investment."

He and a handful of other investors purchased the patents, intellectual property, prototypes and parts from Washington state inventor David Hansen. All have military backgrounds, and that was the initial target market for the vehicle that in current form weighs nearly four tons.

The current prototype consists of a main tracked unit with a trailing powerplant that provides propulsion, and can also leverage the rear of the front half upward to allow it to climb over 4-foot obstacles. A driveshaft also powers either two or four of the drive wheels on the front unit.

It is powered by a Hummer diesel engine and 5-speed transmission, but 1,200 pounds will be saved when the next prototype is converted to a Navistar diesel engine and a hydrostatic drive.

Lewis was working with the University of Idaho on technology for Homeland Security. When the program was discontinued, he and his wife moved to Coeur d'Alene. Through connections with several other retired military, banking and manufacturing executives, the retired Army Lieutenant Colonel formed a company with a goal of developing better armored vehicles for the military.

Others involved include his wife, Janice, who handles the business end; Lance Chugg, chief financial officer and director, a banking specialist; Richard Williams, manufacturing adviser and director and former co-owner/CFO of Western Trailer Co. in Boise; Gary Vest, chairman and president, with 33 years experience in the U.S. Department of Defense including eight years as assistant deputy under secretary of defense; and Garth Barrett, executive vice president/technical and production and director.

Hansen, the inventor, is providing consulting support.

Barrett, born and raised in Rhodesia, has extensive background in building armored vehicles for the United Kingdom. Lewis and Vest are UI graduates, and when the company formed they fielded offers from other states, including Virginia, where Vest now lives, offering free manufacturing facilities.

"We're from Idaho," Lewis said. "We want to keep it in Idaho."

With the exception of the "grousers," the segments of rubber that make up the cleats of the tracks and the engines, all other manufacturing is being subcontracted to Idaho companies. Assembly will be completed either in Mountain Home, the company's preference, or another county with underemployment.

Those grousers, 20 inches wide, are part of what makes the ATAV unique. A center block of the rubber tread allows for highway travel, and the weight distribution means very little disturbance of the surface off road.

"On grass, it can do a 360-degree turn without leaving marks," Lewis said.

In military applications, that could also mean it will not set off improvised explosive devices, the main cause of casualties in the Mideast battle zones.

It has also been tested at speeds up to 60 mph, though "We don't recommend that," he said.

What is truly unusual about the ATAV is that rear powerplant, that can provide leverage to lift the rear of the front unit up, allowing it to go over 4-foot obstacles, Lewis said. It has the capability of traversing 9-foot ditches, and climbing a 45-degree, or 100 percent, slope, steeper than the 60 percent required by the military.

Part of what interests the military is its amphibious abilities.

But military testing can eat up years, so the company began looking at civilian uses.

"We looked at the commercial sector viability, and found out there were more uses by far," Lewis said.

Its gentle footprint makes it ideal for environmentally sensitive areas, and a power take off gives it the ability to drive drills or perform other functions. A mining company is looking at as a low-profile (it is about 5 feet tall) replacement for Hummers; BP has inquired about using to clean up beaches and delicate wetlands; the U.S. Border Patrol is interested because the ATAV will go places a 4WD can't; and countries including Poland, Finland and South Africa have expressed interest.

"There is the potential to go from little Idaho to the international market," Lewis said.

He said production will begin when 25 units are ordered on the commercial market. A military version will cost about $250,000, but must go through the lengthy testing and approval process.

Lewis believes first-year production, expected to begin by fall, could reach 50 units, with 100 in the second year, 200 in the third year and 400 in subsequent year.

That is just civilian production.

"Military sales are not figured in the financials," Lewis said. "That's cream if we get it."

Information: http://www.atavinc.com