The Legend Of The Unimog.
After World War II, Germany wanted to transform itself into an agricultural hub. Automaker Daimler-Benz saw a need for a specialized vehicle for such purposes.
When the Mercedes-Benz Unimog was introduced by Albert Friedrich — head of the aircraft engine division at Mercedes in 1945, it was designed to be a tractor capable of plowing fields, hauling logs, and pulling heavy equipment. Although it performed well, Mercedes-Benz took one look at it and said, “We don’t want it”.
After hearing this, its inventor, Albert Friedrich, left the company to work on the Unimog full time. The Unimog stands for UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät, the latter word being German for “machine”. In 1948, production began, but was unable to keep up with the high demand: Erhard & Sons didn’t have the capacity to build these vehicles in any significant numbers. This led to the Unimog being sold to Mercedes-Benz in 1950.
When the Unimog first hit the showroom floor in 1948, it had 25 horsepower and was capable of traveling at speeds up to 50 kilometers per hour. This made it more powerful and faster than any tractor of its time.
Though it did not take long for the Unimog to become popular, the humble design of the original U25 left plenty of room for improvement. After all, the original Unimog could hardly reach 50 kilometers per hour on its 25-horsepower engine. In 1951, Mercedes-Benz stepped in and took over production, offering a closed-cab version.
Military interest was beginning to develop as well, with the French Army ordering the first batch of Unimogs outfitted for non-civilian use.
1955 brought the introduction of the 404S and 404 line of Unimog vehicles, an iteration that would see a 25-year production run with nearly 65000 examples produced in total.
The initial primary customer for the 404S would be the West German Armed Forces. As a result, the 404’s design would focus on cross-country mobility rather than specifically agricultural work. Capable of fording up to 0.79m of water in stock form, the 404S weighed in at 2900kgs unloaded and could haul up to 1500kgs of cargo.
The production of Unimog series 406 began in 1963. This version sent the truck back to its origin agricultural focus and use. It had got a dedicated hydraulic system to operate with an attached equipment: plows, seeders, etc. The engine was also upgraded with more efficient diesel powertrains. Other upgrades included the Double Cab modification.
406 Unimogs found specialized applications with the communal services, road assistance and repair companies, these trucks were used as emergency vehicles for the rural remote areas. Being put on a rail track, Unimog 406 could tow 300-ton trailers. Unimogs clean railways from snow with a special equipment.
Finally, 406 Unimog was recognized abroad and Argentina run licensed production of military version for its army for decades.
Pupularity with farmers made Mercedes launch a specialised tractor vehicle called Mercedes-Benz Trac in 1972. Mercedes-Benz Trac or Deutz had a long life until 1991.
- To celebrate the jubilee “60 Years Unimog”, Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks presented a design concept based on the Unimog 5000 in 2011.
Mercedes-Benz estimating to have sold over 400000 of Unimogs over the years. The main commercial appeal of the Unimog is simply how versatile it is, as it can be rigged up to become almost anything. It can carry water supplies to workers in remote mines thanks to its relentless off-road capability, or it can be set up as a fire truck to combat forest fires.
In production for over 70 years and counting, the Unimog has become an institution.