Volvo launches a military attack
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• Volvo Trucks (Great Britain) has produced two mystery prototype 4 x 4 military trucks in a bid to win a major contract to supply vehicles to the British Army.
The trucks — codenamed M6 — have specially-lowered FL6 day cabs and are powered by Volvo 'TD 60' series 5.4 litre engines --although Volvo is not saying which version.
Both were built at the company's Irvine assembly plant using a high level of British cornponentry, "including gearboxes and axles, to achieve a 70%-plus local content."
Few details have been released, although CM understands that the 1%.46 has a power output of around 149kW (200hp), and among the components tried in the M6 by Volvo are Rockwell axles and a ZF gearbox.
Payload
If Volvo was to land the order for four-tonne payload 4x4 trucks — thought to be worth 12,000 vehicles in total, delivered over a number of years — it would be the company's first volume military order.
It faces, however, stiff competition from both Leyland, with its recently launched Comet, and Bedford.
The only other military vehicle order won by Volvo was back in 1985 when the company supplied an 8x6 F12 heavy recovery vehicle to the Army.