German Army Gets 650th Unimog U5000
Since 1956 German armed forces have been using Mercedes Unimog as the official logistics car. There’s tens of thousands of Unimogs currently at service.
Recently Mercedes delivered the 650th unit of the new U5000 series to the army. It is a special version with a long 3850 mm wheelbase, powered by the Mercedes-Benz OM 924 LA diesel engine developing 160 kW (218 hp) in the Euro-5 version.
The head of procurement at BwFuhrparkService GmbH, Uwe Gunther, accepted the symbolic Unimog U 5000 keys from Michael Diez, head of government sales in the Mercedes-Benz sales organisation for Germany.
The all-terrain Unimog U 5000 owes its high torsional flexibility to a flexible frame design incorporating two U-section side members with welded tubular cross-members. Standard equipment includes portal axles at the front and rear with differential locks, wheel hub drive, wishbones, a torque tube, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers and stabilisers at the front and rear.
The portal axles and the cranked frame with a diagonal torsional flexibility of up to 600 mm ensure a high ground clearance with a low centre of gravity at all times, while keeping all the wheels on the ground. The long travel of the coil springs allow even hazardous cargo to be safely transported over the most difficult terrain without damage. With a torque distribution of 50/50 between the front and rear axles, the vehicle is able to manage uphill/downhill gradients of up to 100% and an angle of inclination up to 38° without difficulty.
