Hino pours on the power
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• Hino has developed a 257kW (345hp) version of its SH tractive unit along with a premium 'Space Cab' model, and has a 313kW (420hp) derivative waiting in the wings. But UK hauliers will have to wait at least 12 months before getting a chance to try it.
First examples of the more powerful tractors, which are assembled in Dublin by concessionaires Harris, are currently reaching Irish operators, though restricted supplies from Japan have limited the numbers available.
The SH350KA gets an advanced charge-cooled 15-litre straight six engine which pumps out a healthy 257kW (345hp) at 2,000rpm and 1,414Nin (1,044lbft) at 1,30Orpm.
It transmits its power via an Eaton ISO 11612 Twin Splitter gearbox and a singlereduction drive axle. A more competitively powered tractor would be welcomed by Hino's UK dealers who, according to SMMT figures, supplied only 43 trucks between them in the second half of 1990. Harris's sales manager Joe Hutchinson, however, warns that it could be a year at the earliest before supplies arrive.
Hutchinson also predicts that the long-awaited Hino lightweight six-wheeler and the 17tonner, which already have UK type approval (CM 7-13 December 1989), are also unlikely to come in much earlier.
The depressed state of the market is being blamed for Hino's reluctance to expand its rather limited range.