Electric Mercedes EQS: the luxury of the XXI century
The Mercedes-Benz Unimog has just turned 70 and is still in top shape.
It was born as a peculiar tractor in the German postwar period and today it is a multipurpose vehicle present in more than 120 countries and the oldest truck in the world.
Since then more than 400,000 units have been manufactured and many are still in operation.
Albert Friedrich, the father of the Unimog, was an engineer who had worked at Daimler Benz.
In 1945, in the post-war era in Germany, he thought that a different agricultural vehicle from conventional tractors was necessary to feed the country.
He sought the collaboration of Heinrich Röbler, a former colleague at Daimler, who at the time was surviving as a laborer on a farm.
Track width: two bags of potatoes
In 1948 they presented the first Unimog at an agricultural fair in Frankfurt. It was a simple vehicle
.
It did not look like a tractor, it was original and different, but it did not hide its agricultural vocation because its track width, 1.27 meters, corresponded to two sacks of potatoes.
The technical characteristics of that first Unimog survive today.
T
Total interplay, differential lock brakes on front and rear axles, frame as trucks,
gantry axis (the axis is above the wheel to increase the clearance to the floor), enclosed cab area auxiliary load the rear axle, accessory mounting options on the front, center, side and rear.
It currently
collaborates with 250 accessory manufacturers and offers 3,500 approvals.
The first Unimog was powered by a 25-horsepower Daimler Benz OM 636 engine with a six-speed gearbox and reached a top speed of 50 km / h.
Since 1951 in the hands of Daimler Benz
In 1951 the then Daimler Benz AG took over the company and started production at the Gaggenau plant in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany.
Unimog, is the acronym for
Universal Motor Gerät,
(something like 'motorized device for universal applications').
The original logo was a bull's head in 1953 the star was added and since 1955 it has only the star on the front, but the bull is somewhere.
In 2002 production was moved to the Mercedes Benz Truck factory in Wörth am Rhein, about 80 km from Sttutgart.
The Unimog is produced in a hall where other special Mercedes trucks, such as the Zetros, are also mounted and where there are no robots.
In the 80s of the 20th century it was manufactured in Argentina and Turkey.
Coveted by the Armies of the world
The French army, which was occupying southern Germany when the Unimog was born, was the first to realize its military capabilities and placed an initial order for 400 units between 1950 and 1951.
Over these 70 years the Unimog has been incorporated to the armies of Spain, Germany, Argentina, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Australia and the United States with a special version.
The motor you are currently using is also an OM, but it complies with Euro VI regulations.
It has a power of 231 horses, a maximum torque of 900 Nm at 1,400 rpm.
It reaches a maximum speed of 89 km / h and the turning diameter is 16 meters.
The change, with eight gears with a reduction gear that raises them to 48 (24 forward and 24 backward), is operated with a kind of joystick.
It has unsurpassed off-road capability.
Angle of attack of 41 or 43 degrees and departure angle of 39 or 41 degrees, wading of up to 80 centimeters and has overcome slopes of 100%.
Dakar winner in 1982
The versatility of the Unimog is one of its greatest assets.
It can be transformed into an ambulance, snow plow, fire engine or police car, for forest conservation, excavator,
road maintenance, airport activities and also for spraying or plowing.
It can circulate on the train tracks and, in this case, drag up to 1,000 tons.
It also has playful versions.
It is a 4x4 motorhome coveted by adventurers around the world and
even won the Dakar, in its category, in 1982.
Its price varies a lot depending on
the bodywork it carries, the use that is going to be given and the tools that are attached to it, but it is close to that of a supercar,
around 100,000 euros.
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