Super AN for UK
Page 24
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• After months of speculation, MAN has finally decided that its mighty 338kW (460hp) 19.462 tractive unit will go on sale in the UK — but British operators will have to wait until next spring to get their hands on one.
The vee-10-engined 19.462 has been sold on the Continent since early 1987 but not in Britain because until now MAN has believed that there would be insufficient demand to justify the additional sales and service support needed to back-up its most powerful tractive unit.
The right-hand-drive 19.462 will have the same basic specification as its Continental counterpart. It will be equipped with the 18.3-litre twin turbocharged and charge-cooled D2840L engine with 2,080Nm (1,534Ibft) of torque delivered at 1,200rpm (DIN).
The vee-10 engine is coupled to a Fichtel and Sachs MFZ 430 clutch and a ZF 16-speed rangechange and a splitter synchromesh gearbox.
Just like its Continental cousins, the 19.462 will only be available as a two-axle tractor, fitted with the F90 full-width premium sleeper cab, giving it a kerb weight of some 6,800kg.
The arrival of the right-handdrive Volvo F16 and the proposed launch of the most powerful 143 Scania obviously helped MAN decide to launch the 19.462 in the United Kingdom.
It is equipped with ZF's Servocom power steering as standard, with anti-lock braking on its all-round drum units. The MAN HY 13110 singlereduction drive axle has a standard 3.36:1 ratio, giving a top geared speed of 144km/h (89mph).
While the likely price of a 4 x 2 right-hand-drive 19.462 has yet to be revealed by MAN-VW, LHD versions sold in Germany currently carry a price tag of around DM200,000 (£64,000). Last year MAN sold over 50 19.462s and, up to the end of March, it had orders for over 250. For full driving impressions of the 19.462 see CM 24-30 March.