Back in the day, Land Rover’s Optional Equipment catalogue included wire mesh screens that you could rivet behind the bulkhead vents in your Series II or IIA Land Rover, to stop high-speed flies from ramming into your teeth while you drove along. But things are a bit more sophisticated nowadays...
Jaguar Land Rover has announced a prototype air filtration system, courtesy of Panasonic, that promises to filter 97 per cent of bacteria and viruses from the air.
The Panasonic nanoe™ X technology is integrated into the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) of the vehicle. Modern Land Rovers already have nanoe™ technology on board, but the new ‘X’ version is reportedly 10 times more effective, and has now been confirmed as being highly effective against Covid-19.
It works by generating ‘nano-sized atomized water particles’ in the air, collecting that moisture and applying high voltage to it, which produces hydroxyl radicals contained in water. These radicals are highly reactive, and inhibit certain pathogens – including SARS-CoV-2.
The patented tech was tested (independently of Land Rover) by Texell, a research organisation that specialized in virus testing and safety. Their results, published in October 2020, concluded: ‘The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) of the current global pandemic is one such new type of virus and testing with Texcell has now confirmed that the nanoe™ X does have an inhibitory effect on this virus. […] Over 99.99% of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) activity was inhibited within 2 hours’.
How well will this work in a vehicle? In a Series, with door gaps you can fit your fingers through, probably not very well. But in the better sealed cabin of a modern Land Rover… it just might work.