Steyr battles for the middleweight title
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• Austrian truck builder Steyr-Daimler-Puch has revealed which of its HGVs will spearhead its attack on the UK market, planned to begin in September (see News Extra, page 18).
They will be drawn from Steyr's own 9-16 tonne family of middleweight trucks, and will comprise two 16-tonners (and possibly 17-tonners) with a brace of 13-tanners. If these prove successful, Steyr may bring in tractive units.
The first models to go on sale will be the 16818 and 16821 4 x 2 rigid chassis, powered by the company's own six-cylinder WD612 engine. Under Steyr's truck classification system, the first two digits refer to gross weight, and the last two to horsepower.
The 16,518 is fitted with the turbocharged WD612.63 diesel, rated at 132kW (177hp), with a peak torque of 630Nm (4651bft) at 1,300rpm (both figures gross, to ISO standard).
The more powerful 16821 has the charge-cooled WD612.65 engine rated at 159kW (213hp), with a maximum torque of 790Nm (5831bft), again to the ISO standard. The engines could also be used in a range of 17-tormers, according to S-D-P truck division managing director Ernst Pranckl.
Following these models will be two 12.7-tonne (nominally 13-tonne) chassis designated 13514 and 13S18. While the latter gets the same 132kW engine as the heavier 16518, the 13814 is powered by the WD612,61 turbocharged in-line six, rated at 103kW (138hp) with peak torque of 490Nm.
All S-D-P middleweights feature the same Steyr-built day cab, which looks similar to Mercedes-Benz' successful LN2 cab. They come with fivespeed ZF synchromesh gearboxes as standard.
Pranckl says that Steyr's 13, 16 and 17-tonners will be offered with a choice of wheelbases and axle ratios to suit the UK market. If sales of its middleweights go well, Steyr will also bring in a range of heavy trucks, consisting mainly of tractive units. S-D-P already sells a wide variety of heavy truck models on the Continent, including 6 x 4 and 8 x 4 rigids and 4 x 2 and 6 x 4 tractive units.
All of Steyr's heavy models feature its recently-revised distinctive wedge-shaped cab, also built in-house, which comes with the option of top sleeper.