Spotted during hot-weather testing in Sierra Nevada in Spain, this is the replacement for Scania’s R-series. Although the precise timing of its launch is still unknown, one thing is sure – it will look nothing like this.
Close examination of the images of a 4x2 tractor and a 6x2 drawbar rigid reveals that their cabs are clothed in crude pop-riveted panels that disguise their true lines beneath. The sharply curved profile at the foot of the side windows is no more than a shaped flat plate tacked to the door. The one-piece mirror housings also look to be thin shrouds that disguise a more conventional two-mirror set-up.
These pictures follow others of a similarly disguised truck – a 6x4 drawbar – taken in January while undertaking cold-weather testing near the Arctic Circle. Speculation that this was the next Scania is confirmed by details evident in these latest images from Spain, notably the Scania logo visible on the steering-axle wheel hubs.
The two trucks were also spotted earlier this month near the Danish/German border, en route from Sweden to Spain.
The importance of the new cab was highlighted during Scania’s recent unsuccessful attempt to resist Volkswagen’s bid to take full control of Scania. In a recommendation to shareholders in March, Scania directors wrote: “Scania has also been investing into a new truck cab to be introduced within the coming years. The new cab will provide an enhanced customer value and further fuel consumption savings, as well as notable expected cost savings per cab manufactured compared to the current product range. Investments of this magnitude in a new cab are a rare enough occurrence. The last time Scania undertook the launch of a new cab was in 1995.”
By early June VW had taken control of 99% of Scania’s shareholding, paving the way for wider integration of MAN and Scania.
Cab-sharing between the two brands by clever selection of different combinations of Scania’s modular cab programme would be attractive in terms of development and manufacturing economies but may be a step too far for brand independence.
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