Renault Magnum When Renault unveiled its futuristic Virages project tractor
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in 1985, few suspected it was only a trial run for the 1990 launch of the most iconic artic in the business, still going strong after 21 years. Give it up for the Magnum. The marvellous Maggie rewrote the sleeper cab design book with its flat floor atop an engine ‘module’, even if you did have to accept a step arrangement from a 1960s American cabover to get into it. But Renault’s rivals soon started touting a flat (or flat-ish) floor on their top-weight tractors, although there’s only ever been one Maggie. Looking like a Tardis in reverse – gigantic from the outside, yet perfectly proportioned inside – Maggie has gone through several exterior reincarnations and drive-trains with diesels from both Mack and Renault. But the 2006 decision to put the Volvo-derived DXi13 under the hood (with an I-Shiftbased Optidriver II auto behind it) gave the Frenchman the best of both worlds. Alas, the current Maggie will be no more come Euro-6. Adieu mon brave. (BW)