MAN-sized machines for today and tomorrow
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ticular market — as far as the VW 3ide was concerned it was certainly very different to the high volume integral van market.
The sales of the MT have surprised Swindon in the sense that the company has sold more of the six-cylinder version than it thought possible.
The engines available in this particular market category are the D0224M, which is a four-cylinder unit of 3.8 litres (232cuin) capacity, and the six-cylinder unit of 5.69 litres (347cuin) capacity.
The former develops 67kW (90bhp) at 3,000rpm while the larger unit produces 101 kW (13613hp) at the same rated speed.
Bill Gilliham was quite honest when he admitted that the take up of the six-cylinder engine had surprised everyone. As a direct comparison, the 67kW (90bhp) four-cylinder engine offers about as much power as the sixcylinder units of the opposition.
The current take-up for the sixcylinder unit is around 90-per cent which MAN-VW thinks is partly psychological in the sense that operators prefer the smoothness of the six-cylinder unit and relate this to longevity.
The only unfortunate part of the MT story is that it was launched right at the start of the slump. It has a steady three per cent of the market at the moment, which MAN-VW expects to rise to four per cent by the end of the year.
The company has found that fuel economy is a strong selling point now that operators' results are being fed back. As a matter of interest, the MT 8.136 MANVW recorded 14.8 lit/100km (19.05mpg) on a recent Commercial Motor road test.
The MT has a choice of four wheelbases ranging from 3.1 to 4.6m (10ft 2in) to (15ft 1in) although Bill Gilliham said that sales in the main had concentrated on the middle wheelbase variants of 3.6 and 4.25m (lift 10in and 13ft 1 1 in) which allowed a body length in the 14 to 16ft region.
As far as weight is concerned, the MT range starts with the 6.5 tonne 6.90 and goes up to the 9tonnes of the 9.136. In the middle of course is the 7.5-tonne machine which is designated 8.90 or 8.136, depending upon which engine option is specified.
A five-speed gearbox is common throughout the range while a choice of axle ratios (4.44, 4.87 or 5.52 to 1) allows the operator to cater for his individual perfomance requirements.
The MT has not made much impact into the tipper market as yet as in the early stages the short wheelbase version was not available from Germany. Currently tippers account for about ten per cent of the 7.5 tonne market.
So far there is no factory sleeper cab option for the MT and this is one area where MANVW admits to being caught unawares. As Bill Gilliham puts it: "We were not aware that the 71/2 tonne machine was so prolific on long-distance work. There was not a mention of a sleeper cab requirement before November — then, because of drivers' hours legislation, the demand took off."
The heavy end of the MANVW range is sold as an MAN in the category designated HT — for "heavy truck". This category includes the eight-wheeler 30.240 in VF form for haulage and VFK for the tipper men.
Last year, MAN had 51/2 per cent of the four-axle market though, in times of recession, percentages don't tell the whole "story. With the March 1981 sales for the whole sector, for,l example, being down 60 per cent on the same month last year, this 51/2 per cent penetration represents 142 units.
So although MAN-VW has held on to its share, the numbers have been halved.
Most of the sales have been in the tipper sector, but the eightwheeler has also found itself a niche in the bulk grain side of the business.
The 30.240 VFK has an outer axle spread of 6.3m (20ft Bin) compared with the 6.5m (211t 4in) of the haulage version. Allowing a 200mm (8in) gap behind the cab, these chassis have a body length capability of 6.74m (22ft) and 7.09m (23ft 3in) respectively.
The engine for the eightwheeler is the D.2566MF naturally aspirated unit which develops 177kW (237bhp) at 2,200rpm with a maximum torque of 862Nm (636 lbft) at 1,400rpm. Three axle ratios are available at 5.26, 5.92 and 6.73 with the highest of these being added to remove early criticisms of the eight wheelers' lack oi speed.
The lion's share of sales in the HT range are accounted for by the 16.280 tractive unit. This has the suffix FTN for the day caL and FTS for the sleeper option. The driveline specification of the turbocha rged D2566 MTF engine 13-speed Fuller RTO 951: gearbox and MAN hub reductior axle, is common to both models.
The 280 engine is what Bill Gilliham describes as a "lightly tur. bocharged motor". As he put there is a great deal of conservatism at MAN in relation to engine design. "We were late intc rbocharging and late into large-cooling" he said.
(On the subject of chargeooling, the 321 MAN, which atures turbocharging and inlet arge-cooling, has been availble in Germany for some time ut will not come to the UK until e end of the year.) MAN-VW also markets a aturally aspirated engine for is chassis when the model' is signated 16.240 (again with e FTN or FTS suffix denoting b type). Tht engine is identical that in the eight-wheeler and oupled to a 12-speed ZF gearx.
s well as building vehicles on-road application, MANalso has an extensive range heavy off-road chassis. It is ch a specialist market that it is vered by a separate dealer letwork. In fact it is worth ihentioning at this point that 'ihere is a three-stage dealer structure within the MAN-VW etwork.
, The Light Truck dealers only sell the LT range — 90 per cent of these dealers also handle the VW/Audio car side. The LT/MT dealers, of which there are 40, lot surprisingly handle the LT and MT ranges, while at the end of the on-road sector there are U Truck Centres which sell averything — LT, MT and HT.
Then we have the off-road Thassis which, as I mentioned, lave a separate network of dealers. Over 100 chassis have )een sold this year principally of he 32.240 DHK model in 6x4 and 3x6 form. This is a bonneted orry with a gross weight on hree axles of 32 tonnes.
In effect, the MAN-VW range loes from 31/2 tons to "you lame it", as Bill Gilliham put it. rhis comment of course refers o the MAN jumbo range of /elides which operate under he Special Types Order at anyhing up to 150 tonnes gross. In contrast to the Jumbo, MAN-VW is also on the point of releasing a 4x4 version of the Volkswagen LT which was shown in prototype form at last year's NEC Motor Show.
This is very much an MAN-VW Truck and Bus Ltd project which has been carried out in conjunction with Newton Abbot Motors with little or no involvement fern Germany.
It should not be forgotten that the company name now incorporates the word "Bus" in the title, as MAN-VW is now no longer only in the business of selling vans and lorries.
"The coach [the SR280] is another success story for MAN," said Bill Gilliham. The first one was sold in 1979 and since then "we have consistently sold every single unit we can scratch out of the factory."
This totalled 32 last year and has already reached 60 for this year with no possibility of getting any more. "We've just sold the demonstrator," said Bill. Trying to keep a sense of proportion in the luxury coach market is difficult as the prices for the SR280 start at £62,000 and then increase according to the specification required. One was sold for no less than £98,000.
The Swindon-based UK operation is just one part of a vast engineering consortium with its headquarters in Germany. As well as building commercial vehicles, MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg — Nurnberg) is also involved in heavy general engineering and Volkswagen of course has an extensive car range.
To find out how the research and development side of the oragnisation functions, I recently spoke to Dr Hans Hagen, MAN's technical director, at his Munich headquarters.
MAN has plants all over Germany, but research is concentrated at Munich — with one important exception. All work on automotive engines be it technical development, production or even deciding on the correct specification for the market is carried out at Nurnberg.
As a matter of interest and to give an idea of the extent of the MAN operation, there are three basic engine activities within the company. At Nurnberg the factory makes engines in the 65 and 375kW (90 to 500bhp) range for stationery and automotive use.
At Friedrichshafen engines in the 375 to 1500kW (500 to 2000bhp) range are produced, while anything with a power requirement in excess of this is produced at Augsburg. The biggest unit currently produced delivers 3,300kW (4,400bhp) per cylinder for a total of 33,000kW (44,000bhp).
MAN does not make its own gearboxes (with one exception), but as Dr Hagen explained: "We try to influence development and push the manufacturer in the direction we want him to go." The exception, by the way, is the transfer box for the allwheel-drive chassis which is MAN-designed and built throughout.
The company has an open mind on the relative merits of continued overleaf