MERC’S AMAZING MOG
It was an obscure, unmarked dirt track draped with tall trees, just a few kilometres off a busy German motorway. Deutschland’s version, perhaps, of ‘off the beaten track’ and for a few imaginary moments under a blazing summer sun and drifting dust, Down Under didn’t feel quite so far away.
But there was, of course, more to this diversion than just a curious detour through a foreign forest. A few hundred metres further, the track opened up to reveal a man-made torture course of off-road obstacles designed to test, demonstrate and dramatically accentuate the abilities of various all-wheel-drive models from the Mercedes-Benz ‘special trucks’ range. None more dramatic, though, than possibly the world’s most adroit and diverse commercial vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz Unimog.
Initially engineered as part tractor, part truck, purists might suggest Unimog is not a freight-carrying commercial vehicle in the true sense. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Sure, agriculture was the main purpose behind the initial design in the immediate aftermath of
