Green multis from Mere
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EXCLUSIVE / Mercedes-Benz will launch its new multi-wheelers this autumn starting with the 2527 six-wheeler. Right-hand-drive production starts this month.
An eight-legger 3234 RHD prototype will probably appear next spring, with production models following in the autumn if the UK eight-wheeler market picks up.
Both models will be powered by charge-cooled vee-six diesels from the Mercedes Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) 400 engine range.
The 2527 will be fitted with the 200kW (268hp) variant of the 9.57-litre vee-six currently used in the 1827 4x2 artic chassis. It provides 1,040Nm (7671bft) of torque at 1,0001,60Orpm. The tipper chassis will be carried over from the current 2422, but the bogie spread will have to be modified to operate at the proposed 26tonne GVW limit. These models should arrive in the new year.
The 3234 will gain the larger 11-litre vee-six, as fitted to 1834 and 2534 artics. Rated at 250kW (335hp) with 1,400Nm (1,0331bft) of torque available at 1,000-1,600rpm, the 3234 will give Mercedes the highpowered eight-legger it has lacked. At present there are no plans for a lower powered 8x4 model.
Kerbweight should also be significantly reduced by dropping the naturally aspirated 15litre vee-eight which powers the current 3229.
The latest additions to the LEV range mean that all the company's heavy truck will now meet the forthcoming EC Euro-1 emissions regulations. The 2422 and 3229 multiwheelers were the last models to use naturally aspirated engines; as such, neither would have satisfied the Euro-1 limits.