Spotted: the next Renault Magnum
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By Will Shiers CAPTURED ON A road near the Renault Trucks test track at La Valbonne, Lyon, this is reckoned to be the next generation of Magnum and Premium.
The original Magnum, launched in 1990, was distinctive for several reasons. Not only was it the first tractor unit with a flat floor, it had razor-sharp cliff-face styling and a cab sitting so far back that the steps were located behind, instead of in front of, the steer axle. Those features survived a series of revisions, softened only by introduction of a few curves in 2008.
This picture suggests that Renault is about to move the Magnum closer to normality. Our guess is that the economics of producing a distinctive “flagship” tractor no longer stack up, so the future Magnum will be the top end of a more versatile range and based on a core cab system using common components. Scania and MAN adopted this approach years ago; Mercedes-Benz is doing the same with its new Actros cab, with narrower/lower versions used for smaller models that will replace the Axor.
Renault’s forthcoming cab system will cover Premium models and, with suitable cosmetic changes, possibly may be the basis of the next generation of Volvo cabs too: Volvo is Renault Trucks’ parent company.
This new range is almost certainly due to be unveiled at the IAA CV show at Hannover in September.
Neither Renault nor Volvo have said much about their Euro-6 engines so far, but it is likely that they will be European versions of those already in production in Japan at another Volvo group subsidiary, UD Truck Corporation, formerly Nissan Diesel. The GH11 and GH13 are 10.8and 12.8-litre units respectively.
The GH5 and GH7, fourand six-cylinder engines respectively, with swept volumes of 4.7 and 7.0 litres, will replace the Deutz-built 4.8and 7.2-litre engines currently used by both Renault and Volvo in their light and mid-range trucks.