First UK sighting of new Scania cab near Bristol

Scania’s new cab is getting closer. It was first spotted undergoing cold-weather testing near the Arctic Circle in January last year, then in the soaring summer temperatures of Spain’s Sierra Nevada last August.

Now it is in the UK, sighted near Bristol last week, pulling a trailer operated by local haulier Wrings Transport.

A multitude of rivet heads right across the cab confirms that it is still heavily disguised by superficial fake panels. So although it looks broadly similar to the current cab range, in reality the changes may run far deeper.

The R-series was introduced in 2004 and its cab pressings go right back to the introduction of the 4-series in 1995.

One feature that the fake panels cannot disguise is that Scania’s familiar vertical door handle now sits much lower in the door, making it less of a stretch.

And the relatively small gap between the top of the front mudwing and lower edge of the cab to allow for cab suspension movement suggests this is the new equivalent of a G-series rather than an R-series.

The elevation of the roof spoiler would tally with that, but maybe Scania has tweaked its cab height variants.

Those dummy roof panels make the roof pod look marginally taller than the current Highline’s but not quite up to Topline proportions.

DVLA data reveals that the unit was registered on 1 June and has Scania’s 12.7-litre DC13 engine.

Wrings Transport of Hallen, near Avonmouth bought several Scania R-series Toplines in 2012 but its latest acquisitions, made in March this year, are four Mercedes-Benz Actros 2545 tractor units.