A trio of classic, heavy-duty MAN vehicles with friendly, rounded shapes. Toughness masked by soft looks, this especially applies to the duo sitting on the semi-low loader.
The front-runner is an F8 19.321 4×2 tractor from the early eighties; 19 tonnes GVWR, maximum power output 320 DIN-hp.
Riding along comfortably, two representatives of the 1956-1969 generation of the truck maker’s ‘Ponton-Kurzhauber’-series of short-nosed conventionals. I’d say that both of them are around 60 years old.
Short nose, short chassis. And curvy! Its full name is M.A.N. Diesel 10.212 HS. The classic model designation goes as follows: up to 10 tonnes payload capacity (deduct the weight of the truck body), maximum power output 212 DIN-hp, HS for Hauben-Sattelzugmaschine (a conventional 4×2 tractor unit).
Its engine must be the D 2146 HM, a naturally aspirated inline-six with a displacement of 9,659 cc.
Completely period correct is the chassis in bright red, not only found on vehicles from the M.A.N. Diesel stable. It used to be Germany’s favorite truck chassis color.
Triple red? A 13.215 HK (Hauben-Kipper, a conventional 4×2 dump truck) with a Meiller-Kipper three-way dump body. To the best of my knowledge, the earthmover is powered by the 10,350 cc, D 2156 HM-series inline-six.
Here’s a 13.215 4×2 dump truck as a cabover with a day cab, which means it’s an FK rather than an HK. The F stands for Frontlenker, forward control. Note that it has the brand new Saviem tilt cab from France, introduced in 1967. All heavy MAN Frontlenkers came with this cab for almost 20 years.
Anno 2025, a similar MAN looks like this, a TGM 18.320 with a 4×2 drivetrain and three-way dump body. COE only, a short-nosed alternative is not available.
A first gen Ponton-Kurzhauber from a driver’s point of view. With such a short nose, the engine is still partly intruding into the cab. The transmission is a ZF six-speed. It’s a stark place for sure, yet more than roomy enough to house ein Kerl wie ein Baum.
Related article (second gen Ponton-Kurzhauber):
MAN 26.281 DHK Dreiseitenkipper – Round-Faced And Steely-Spined
Glad to see these european beauties.
The blue looks quite modern for the year it was made.
The Trilex rims make any truck or bus look so much stronger and more robust. I love those things.
Right, Trilex rims add toughness and roughness…
Never used here (in NL), but I always saw them on heavy vehicles from Switserland, on the road and in the magazines. Maybe common in southern Germany too? Also, widely used in Australia.
The ‘Trilex wheel system’ is still going strong:
https://safholland.com/bx/en/products/trilex-wheel-system-1
I was a tyre fitter for about a year back in ’72-3 – we did a lot of lorries but I never encountered these Trilex wheels although I’d seen them in photos.I still can’t figure out how they work – are they for tubeless tyres?
Back then UK trucks mostly had tyres with inner tubes and the wheel assembly had a detachable flange held in place by a ring which was in effect a big spring clip.
I used to be terrified inflating the more rusty ones because the ring would have halved you in two if it came off at high pressure.
Short YouTube video (search for ‘Trilex’ and those will show up too):
As always, great photos and explanations. Indeed, the European trucks of the 1950’s are cosmetically much more appealing that those in The U.S. We have some exceptions build here. Beautifully restored trucks, too. Thanks – Tom
Red chassis looks good on any truck, Ive been doing some seasonal driving for a guy Ive wrked for many times all his trucks have had the chassis painted red, no German trucks though mostly Isuzus and a few Volvos and a vintage cabover Kenworth nobody wants to drive, all COE.
Those are real beauties…
I seem to remember a time when UK trucks & coaches used ‘chassis silver’ paint – so that oil leaks would be easier to spot.
Yes, the German red looked way better…
MAN used to use some unusual gear knobs – more like a walking cane/umbrella handle!
Or a sword, with that range-change ring!
Initially I thougth that gear knob was some sort of ‘hot rod afterthought’ when I found interior pictures of a restored Kurzhauber, but it turned out to be fully factory stock.
“…so that oil leaks would be easier to spot.”
Side note: The red tones mostly used on German trucks’ chasis are the standardized colors RAL 3000 (fire red) and RAL 3002 (carmine red).
German State Railways used precisely these paint tones for the running gear of their steam locomotives (see image below). The purpose was to make it easier to identify broken areas in connecting rods, wheels, bogies and so on.
Image: German express engine; type 01.
Thanks for the addition, always welcome, that kind of extra info!