In the late sixties, the German Rheinstahl conglomerate merged the commercial vehicle divisions of their Hanomag and Henschel subsidiaries into Hanomag-Henschel-Fahrzeugwerke GmbH, with Daimler-Benz as a 51% shareholder.
Shortly after, at the end of 1970, Daimler-Benz became the full owner of the newly formed company. The writing was on the wall -in capital letters- and the last Hanomag-Henschel left the factory in 1974.
Besides the last generation of the Harburger Transporter, the 1967-1973 F-series was another highly-regarded Hanomag (with or without Henschel) light commercial vehicle.
Unlike the final edition of the Harburger, the F-series never got a three-pointed star on the grille. You see, Daimler-Benz already had their own T2 ‘Düsseldorfer Transporter’, which was a direct F-series competitor (and was also introduced in 1967). As a matter of fact, said Düsseldorfer was also offered as a Hanomag-Henschel for a while.
With a payload capacity up to 2,150 kg (4,740 lbs), the F45 was the lightest model of the series. The modern and roomy cab was designed by Louis Lucien Lepoix (1918-1998), a French industrial designer.
The F45 was powered by a Rheinstahl Hanomag D 141 L inline-four, indirect injected diesel engine with a displacement of 2,835 cc. Its maximum power output was 65 DIN-hp, enough to give the truck a 90 km/h top speed. Let’s not discuss the acceleration time to get there, shall we?
The livestock body was built by the Jumbo company, judging by the bumper sticker. Such trucks were typically owned by livestock traders and local butcheries.
An alternative in those days -albeit with less capacity- was coupling a tandem axle livestock trailer to a Mercedes-Benz W115 diesel. Speaking of Mercedes-Benz, that brings us straight to a comparable ‘dually’ at the event.
A 2018 Sprinter box truck, 45 years younger than the Hanomag-Henschel, yet working in the exact same class of commercial vehicles. Its 2,143 cc, OM 651 common rail turbodiesel is good for 163 DIN-hp.
A Dhollandia cantilever liftgate completes the picture. Side underride guards are legally required, regardless the size of the truck.
Another W906-generation Sprinter was also parked in the same backyard lot, so we might as well have a look at it while we’re there.
A 2016 panel van, powered by the same diesel engine as the box truck, although with 130 DIN-hp.
A decent livery greatly improves the looks and image of a plain white cargo van. And a set of Borbet wheels also helps.
Postscript
Caught last Friday, a 2007 Renault Trafic 2.0 dCi in all its grimy glory, towing a 2016 Saris C2000 flatbed trailer/machine transporter. It’s not hard to figure out what the owner’s profession is.
Good Morning (Eastern Daylight Time)!
I just learned more about one of my favorite subjects – TRUCKS. Very interesting. The only Hanomag trucks i have seen in the States are the multipurpose slow-moving reliable trucks of which few came here. This is a nice light-duty truck. As one who did sell trucks, I would have been pleased to sell it, although convincing business owners’ chauffeurs that they cannot accelerate quickly would be a drawback. It’s Father’s Day in The U.S. Happy Father’s Day to you, Johannnes!
Thanks Tom, here’s to you too! Hanomag was a van and light truck specialist (among many, many other things), Henschel built heavy-duty trucks and tractors.
Once they were merged, they could supply pretty much any commercial vehicle you wanted. But that didn’t last long, as mentioned…
I quite like the cab design on the Hanomag; very well done.
Agree. And it makes more sense than the newer Mercedes – simpler to manufacture and repairs parts must be less expensive.
The Hanomag F Cabine ( not the Chassis and Engine etc) was built from 1969 to 1982 as Steyr 590- 690 from Steyr Daimler Puch in Austria. All of Machines for Production was going from Austria to Tatra in India. Tatra built it from 1986 to 2014 as Tatra 407!
Right, here’s an early Steyr 590 truck, obviously with a double cab. The 690 was the heavier model, yet with the same Hanomag F-series cab.
The HH F Series design was very modern for 1967 – cleanly surfaced and nicely proportioned. I like these a lot – their quality was supposed to be really good, too.
Seeing the Trafic makes me feel old as I did the first sketches for it in 1997 – nearly 30 years ago! I found the originals whilst going through boxes in my garage a couple of weeks ago. It was one of my favorite projects, bringing back wonderful memories of 2 years in Paris working at Renault with M. LeQuement and his team.
Funnily enough, I’m now designing something to compete with the Sprinter…
‘Seeing the Trafic makes me feel old as I did the first sketches for it in 1997 – nearly 30 years ago! I found the originals whilst going through boxes in my garage a couple of weeks ago’
A terrific Trafic article is long-overdue Huey!
I can help you with that – like I said, I found a lot of stuff relating to the W83 (as I knew it) or X83 program which encompassed the Trafic, Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro and Nissan Primastar when going through old paperwork. The project was a greatr success, becoming European Van Of the Year and best selling vehicle in it’s segment for a number of years.
OK, I don’t mind exposing my cluelessness: what is the profession of the Trafic and trailer owner? I see what might be some yard/landscaping equipment in the back of the van, and maybe some large plastic crates in the trailer, but nothing obvious to me.
‘I see what might be some yard/landscaping equipment in the back of the van’
Correct on the first guess!
Those plastic crates are used for storing/transporting potted plants and shrubs (in this case).