It was an obscure, unmarked dirt track draped by 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 World War II, but
