Mercedes-Benz will enter heavy duty market with Actros SLT and Arocs SLT
With the sales launch of its new Mercedes-Benz SLT heavy-duty tractor unit for the European markets, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is completing the introduction of its new truck model series featuring Euro VI in-line six-cylinder engines. The new family of Mercedes-Benz trucks for heavy-duty transport is available for the first time as the variants Actros-SLT with air suspension and Arocs-SLT with steel suspension, while the Arocs is also alternatively available with all-wheel drive.
Responsible for the development and production of the SLT with immediate effect is Custom Tailored Trucks (CTT), located in the Alsatian town of Molsheim and managed by the Wörth truck plant. The Euro III and Euro V versions of the Actros-SLT for non-European and overseas markets continues to be manufactured by CTT partner Titan. The Mercedes-Benz SLT is currently the only heavy-duty transport vehicle on the market which boasts Euro VI certification, a turbo retarder clutch as standard, and the Mercedes PowerShift 3 transmission with a special “Heavy” transmission mode. The only available heavy-duty tractor unit on the European market with Euro VI-powertrain to date is the new Mercedes-Benz SLT heavy tractor unit with the OM 473 Euro VI-engine. The most powerful variant of the new OM 473 Euro VI in-line six-cylinder engine develops 460 kW (625 hp) and torque of 3000 Nm at 1100 rpm. At the same time the new Mercedes-Benz OM 473 impresses with its economy: even the most powerful unit of the new engine generation has been thoroughly developed for low fuel consumption. The special features of the new Mercedes-Benz OM 473 include a technical speciality, the turbo-compound system. The term stands for a second turbine downstream of the exhaust gas turbocharger.
The automated Mercedes PowerShift 3 transmission features a “Heavy” transmission mode and is designed for high torque to handle loads of up 250 t. The SLT is the only vehicle in the field of competitors that has a 16-speed transmission and consequently the finest gear ratio spread in the heavy-duty transport sector. The turbo retarder clutch is another unique selling point of the new SLT. It functions as a wear-free starting-off aid, while the retarder section functions as a brake, and yet is lighter, more efficient and more compact than a torque converter clutch. This means the SLT tractor unit has temporally unlimited manoeuvrability and unrestricted low-speed driving and crawling capability, meaning that the SLT boasts the greatest possible flexibility in operation. The large quantities of heat developed are dissipated by the high-performance cooling system behind the cab, both in the three-axle and four-axle variants, of course. The cooling system is concealed by elegantly designed flaps on the sides that give the Actros or Arocs cab a distinctive and dynamic appearance.
Drivers of heavy-duty transport vehicles spend much of their working time behind the wheel driving long distances – and taking many forced breaks if the permit so requires. At other times they must feel their way through tight town centres with their overheavy, overlong tractor-semitrailer combinations, and finally, on the last stretch to their destination, they become construction vehicle drivers who must deliver a generator set or wind turbine over poor field roads. The cab for the heavy-duty transport vehicle must be selected to meet all these requirements. The Actros-SLT with air suspension is available with GigaSpace or BigSpace cab; the Arocs-SLT with steel suspension, with BigSpace (2.5 m) or StreamSpace (2.3 m) cab. Delivery of the basic chassis for the Actros-SLT with air suspension and the Arocs-SLT with steel suspension begins in December 2013. The all-wheel-drive variants of the Arocs-SLT are available from April 2014.
