Leyland Des six-pack
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Having doubled its UK outit from 34 to 68 trucks a day ithe past 12 months, Leyland laf has unveiled six new:hide specifications for 1989 mfident that demand will relain high and that it can connue making "healthy profits". Top of the 1989 list comes a x2 Roadtrain tractor powered v a new Perkins Eagle 800 eries deisel engine producing 43kW (325hp) of power and tore than 1,490Nm (1,100Ibft) f torque. Leyland Daf will give 3ers a choice of transmissions ri the new truck, inlcuding the )-speed Spicer box and the Lcreasingly popular Eaton win Splitter.
Perkins will be supplying the agle 800-Series engine to eyland Daf exclusively, says ianaging director Roger Phil)s. The Roadtrain's rear axle itio will be 4A3:1; it will use 1R 22.5 tyres and will have a endix air drier as standard. Leyland Daf is aiming the ew Roadtrain at inter-city inking firms and is offering ay and sleeper cabs on a .45m wheelbase. The Roadam weighs in at 20.33 tonnes NW with an unladen weight f 7,605kg and a kingpin loadig of 14.72 tonnes.
Two other tractor units will e appearing in the Leyland laf stable next year, a Cruiser 7.18 aimed nominally at the 4-tonne market though it rill probably be downplated — ad a tractor version of the °pular FT 1900DNS rigid in le same weight category.
■ yothro box
'he Cruiser will have a Daf .2-litre engine givng 134kW 180hp) at 2,600rpm and 84Nm (4311bft) of torque at ,700rpm, coupled to a ZF 636 12-speed synchro box nd a Leyland Daf 11/24 rear xle.
Air driers will go into the raking system of the Cruiser nd an upgraded suspension ystem will enhance ride. Easily the most exciting new evelopment for the Cruiser, .owever, will be a Grau Girling nti-lock braking system fitted s standard from next year. According to sales engineering manager John Beveridge, next year's Cruiser will be the "first (CV) in the UK to specify an anti-lock system as a standard non-optional tine fit."
The second new entry in this lightweight (below 29 tonnes) tractor market, which Leyland Dafs product marketing manager Peter Symons says has declined by 17.5% in the past 12 months, will be a tractor version of the 1900 rigid. Available from May, the 156kW (209hp) FT 1900 DNS should appeal, says Symons, to "operators looking for higher power at 20-24 tonnes". The 1900 tractor has a transmission based on the Cruiser 17.18 and a Leyland Daf 22.5 single-reduction rear axle. It will be built alongside the rigid 1900 at the Leyland assembly plant in Lancashire.
The three new rigids for next year are headed by a revised Freighter spec using the same 6.2-litre 134kW (180bp) engine as the revised Cruiser, coupled directly to a six-speed ZF box and the newly-designed Leyland Daf 11/24 rear axle. Standard fitments will include shock absorbers fitted on line, lockable batteries, Bendix air driers, automatic slack adius ters, and provision for anti-lock braking systems.
The electrics have been beefed up too, with a 55amp alternator, a more powerful starter motor, glow plugs in place of an ether cold start system, and militaryspecification protective conduits throughout.
The second new rigid will be a Constructor 6 fitted with the Daf 11.6-litre KT 191 diesel producing 191kW (256bhp) at 2,100rpm and a torque rating of 1,100Nm (811Ibft) at 1,450rpm. For the first time Leyland Daf will use the new 9S109 double H-shift patterned ZF Ecomid transmission including a crawler gear.
Same engine
Finally, a new Constructor 8 will appear in 1989, in an 8 x 4 configuration with the same engine and transmission system as the 6x4 Constructor 6. Both will also feature air driers in the braking system, with a radiator stone guard and a fully integrated exhaust-brake system on the Constructor 8 A new premium-tyre policy will come in at the beginning of next year too, allowing Leyland Daf customers the opportunity to enjoy dedicated steering tyres on all front axles and dedicated traction tyres on all drive axles. Buyers will be able to choose which make of tyre is fitted.
Managing director Roger Phillips says that the decision to use more common engines and more common parts instead of bringing in completely new options will help rationalise the company's stockholding and minimise costs.
Some 60% of Leyland Dafs total output is now built in the UK, and because the group's Continental plants are now working at full capacity, any increase in manufacturing will be based here.
The Roadrunner is beginning to sell well through Leyland Dafs 600 dealers in mainland Europe. The company sold a total of 500 export-only Comets last year and expects to double that number this year.