The Unimog: A Vehicle of Unparalleled Capability

As we sit in the driver's seat of this magnificent machine, it becomes clear that the Unimog is something truly special. The moment we engage first gear, the vehicle begins to crawl forward with ease, its advanced suspension system working tirelessly to maintain a smooth ride over even the most challenging terrain. But what makes this vehicle so remarkable? For starters, the chassis itself is designed to twist and flex in ways that would be impossible for other vehicles of similar size and weight.

The Unimog's design philosophy is centered around giving it tremendous movement while maintaining stability and control. The body on the back is mounted on a separate subframe, which is supported by two large beams that run along either side of the vehicle. This clever design means that whatever the chassis is doing, the load on the back isn't subject to any torsion or stress, making it an ideal choice for carrying heavy loads or sensitive electronic equipment.

But the Unimog's capabilities don't stop there. Its portal axles are designed to run higher than the wheel center, giving them extra ground clearance and allowing the differentials to be smaller. This clever design also means that the differential is slightly offset to one side, which increases ground clearance even further. And with its torque tube system, everything that spins - from the engine to the transmission - is contained within a single unit, ensuring that there's nothing spinning if you hit the bottom of a rock or other obstacle.

The Unimog's suspension is another key feature that sets it apart from other vehicles. The chassis itself twists and flexes as we drive over rough terrain, but the load on the back of the vehicle remains steady and controlled. This is made possible by the subframe mounting system, which keeps the body of the vehicle isolated from any movement or stress.

As we begin to descend a steep incline, the Unimog's capabilities become even more apparent. The vehicle effortlessly glides down the slope, its suspension working tirelessly to maintain a smooth ride. And with its advanced tire pressure changing system, we can adjust the pressure of each individual tire independently - a feature that will be music to the ears of overland campers and firefighters alike.

But what really sets the Unimog apart is its ability to adapt to different situations. Want to drive on loose sand? The Unimog can do that too - with tire pressures as low as 1.2 bar, it's able to handle even the most treacherous terrain. And if you happen to puncture a tire or lose one in the field, the Unimog's independent suspension system means that the other three tires remain unaffected, allowing you to drive out and change the tire wherever you like.

As we come to the end of our journey, it becomes clear that the Unimog is truly an extraordinary piece of kit. Its design philosophy is centered around giving it unparalleled capability in even the most challenging environments. And with its impressive feature list - including a central tire pressure changing system and advanced differential design - it's little wonder that this vehicle has become a favorite among overland enthusiasts and firefighters alike.

For those who are interested in learning more about this incredible machine, we recommend checking out a full feature on the Unimog in our magazine. You can find the latest issue online or in print, and be sure to follow us on all of our social media channels for the latest news and updates from the world of cars. And if you're interested in hearing more about this topic, we've got an excellent podcast called "My Week in Cars" that's definitely worth a listen.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello welcome back to the channel well I have not one but two unox one is the ultimate Implement carrier and the other is the ultimate off-roader but here is how the Unimog story developed in the mid 1940s a tractor was the farmer's essential tool but with two wheel drive and an exposed rear seat over the axle while they were rugged they were slow and basic and if you wanted to take produce well you probably needed a trailer German engineer Albert Friedrich looked to tear up that rule book and he did with the Unimog 7200 which he first tested in 1946 and which went into production in 1948 in it he made room for two occupants seated side by side protected by a windscreen he gave his machine four-wheel drive and portal axles the track width was the same as two rows of potatoes so the Unimog could be driven into Fields it had a power coupling for farming equipment and it could tow but it also had its own load Bay and with 25 horsepower even early unimogs could reach 31 mph a speed no tractor of the day could match by the early 1950s it had gained the attention of Daimler Benz which bought production and slightly modified the MOG so it could be built in much greater numbers than handbuilt early models its versatility meant it had already exceeded its agricultural Ambitions it had been bought by armies and put to use by utility and emergency services but fundamentally the 401 and 402 models made in the early 1950s were very true to the originals size and purpose this is one right so one of these is kind of where it all started this is a 401 model from 1956 and there's quite a lot of unmarked things in here this is the gear lever the neutral plane is kind of on that sort of plane it's vague is a is a word I would apply to it I need to push this on and then I've got a little glow plug to Stage I've got to wait for it to heat up a little make sure I am in neutral if I start it in gear I could be in trouble neutral is in there somewhere neutral is in here somewhere bear with me a few moments later one hour later keep bearing with me 346 minutes later so that's first and second I think look while I'm dealing with that there are other levers too there's a handbrake lever here there is a diff lock here uh that puts me from front to reverse and there's a power takeoff lever down here as well in principle that is not so different from the new Unimog you see behind me there are three locking differentials I've even got hand throttle here so if I'm working in the field somewhere and my foot would be hitting up and down on the throttle well I can just set this hand throttle to a constant speed so I don't have to worry about that that is very clever right I might start it with a clutch in just to be on the safe side also has a also has a slightly sticky throttle and I'm told the brakes are not all that so one I'm in a 70E old vehicle with a sticking throttle and no R but it's very low geared so that shouldn't be a problem much much much later there it is there's neutral look there's neutral and that I hope is first let's find out oh we're on and that is not second so that is first maybe I'll stick in first so I hope you can hear me the finishing of this modern unor is very different it's a much larger vehicle it's a much heavier vehicle but the principles largely the same there's an engine sort of between between these these days is a mi out of the back but there's an engine about here I fit on top of it the overhangs are absolutely tiny in four-wheel drive there's a locking s this a locking front lock rear differential power take offs if you want it visibility use all right as standard this this route and also this back we got me here these are from a series Land Rover but they KCK the rain off normally as standard it would have had a canvas roof and you could drop the wind screen right now I must say i' rather enjoy I mean I'm moving at no miles hour which is fine it's just so compact everything's got bigger is it the whole world every every machine we seem to deal with has got bigger in some way right I'm going to try second gear that is not second gear why is that not second gear one eternity later that is second gear oh that's better I'm positively cruising it's a joy I mean it's got indicators it's got air conditioning more you want actually it rides quite nicely I can see sort of I can see the I can see the ground Ro through the whole where the pedals go but you know what 1956 if the alternative to one of these was sitting right on the back of a tractor over its back wheels and there's no cous this is just this is just much more pleasant much much more pleasant and it really set the toe for the Unimog as it is today it's an alternative to many agricultural Vehicles it's faster it's more comfortable and while that might not exactly seem like it when you sort of see this compare it to the alternative of the time in the same way that you compare the modern unival to the Alternatives today by the time our 41 model was made Daimler Benz had already begun producing a larger sibling the 404 made from 1955 all the way to 1980 in essence it's more off-road truck than small agricultural vehicle and the Unimog range kind of diverges at this point with a small vehicle and a larger one on sale together and that's still the same now popular with armed forces and utility companies the bigger 404 also introduced a concept that still exists today and which you'll see more of later curved chassis rails connected by torque tubes which lets the entire chassis Flex to increase axle articulation the 404 and its later derivatives also became popular as recreational off-roaders for fun or competition few if any four-wheeled Vehicles could go further off-road so after some time making what Unimog called light medium or heavy series variants producing the city Implement carrier and even an MB track tractor versatility versus off-road ability is how daer truck eventually decided to distinguish between its two very different types of unit so as I showed you at the very start of the vid that today there is the ug Implement carrier the useful vehicle that you might find servicing Railways or clearing snow or Mowing and then there is the big one the2 200,000 extreme off-roader the uh welcome to the inside of the uh which I've got in clutchless mode you can use the clutch if you want but the gearbox you can put in manual or Auto it is in manual I'm in second you pull it up towards you to engage to to get a higher gear and you push it away to get a lower gear you know what the ride is amazingly compliant given given the terrain we are going over it really rounds off the edges it helps the fact that the seats are isolated too I don't know how much that down angle is but all I can see is ground and just sits about 14 under revs and just drags you nicely down PE talk at 1100 revs which is very little I think it used to be higher before these engines were Euro 6 compliant so we go some Moguls mly type things which means one minute all you can see is a normal view the next minute all you can see is ground but it's a real test I think of the of the breakover angle the thing about this thing underneath is that everything that spins oh I should have uh there we go everything that spins is within a torque tube so if you if you hit the bottom of it there's nothing spinning to hit you're just hitting the bottom bit of metal so you've just got to repaint it all of the Air Lines all the electric lines uh all the pneumatic lines go over the top of those two and because it runs portal uh axles which means there's a gear in the axle itself so the axle goes higher than the than the the wheel center if you like which gives it extra ground clearance it also means the differentials can be a bit smaller as well which is not the case uh with all of this car's Rivals and also that differential is slightly offset to one side so it's not hanging in the middle that actually increases ground clearance a little bit a little bit more as well but the really clever bit and this has been a principle since the Unimog was first designed is that the chassis itself as well as the suspension having tremendous movement the chassis itself twists it is designed to do it and the body on the back is kind of mounted on a sort of separate subframe you'll see it it's just sort of mounted on a little B thing and supported either side which means whatever the chassis is doing that load on the back isn't subject to any torsion or changes itself which if you're carrying uh sensitive electronic equipment or you've got a big these These are pretty popular with firefighters if you got a 4,000 L water tank on the back it is quite important that those things don't flex because they need to be tight and electrical equipment needs to be insulated so whatever you've got stays lower GE so we are now in first gear just crawls it is extraordinary this thing I've never been in anything that goes off-road as capably as this it is and I'm not challenging it yet cuz I'm talking to you while an engineer driver by my side so it just directs me where to go now there is a a drop down there that I would not I would not try if I was on my own all you see is ground this is extraordinary this is such a cool thing there's also a central sort of tire pressure changing system so you can change each Tire's pressure independently of each other so on the road I think that might be up to sort of five to six bar but on really loose sand that might go down to one or two 1.2 bar to 1.2 to 1.5 bar something like that I'm about to go through a ridiculously tight is this okay or do I need to go back so we've engaged oh I've hit EC Drive how I know off so at the moment I've got uh 2.5 bar in the front tires and 2.7 in the back you can change it if you are say a firefighter and you're fighting a you're in a pretty awful predicament you're fighting a forest fire you happen to puncture one of your tires or lose one of the tires what you can do is you can pump the other three up the other three remain independent you can drive out on three and then change the tire where you want to but I'm told Overland campers quite like the idea that you can change them independently CU when they set up at night some of them don't like to to lie bound at night in bed to find it's on an angle so they can change the tire pressure and level up the truck nicely how thoughtful is that I think I've turned the lights on maybe they're automatic this thing is an extraordinary piece of Kit I absolutely love it there's a full feature on this over in autocar magazine 2 which you can get on digital subscription or you can get in print as the magazine has been published weekly since 1895 you can find us on all the socials as well we've got an excellent podcast called my week in cars which I commend to you thank you for joining us see you next timehello welcome back to the channel well I have not one but two unox one is the ultimate Implement carrier and the other is the ultimate off-roader but here is how the Unimog story developed in the mid 1940s a tractor was the farmer's essential tool but with two wheel drive and an exposed rear seat over the axle while they were rugged they were slow and basic and if you wanted to take produce well you probably needed a trailer German engineer Albert Friedrich looked to tear up that rule book and he did with the Unimog 7200 which he first tested in 1946 and which went into production in 1948 in it he made room for two occupants seated side by side protected by a windscreen he gave his machine four-wheel drive and portal axles the track width was the same as two rows of potatoes so the Unimog could be driven into Fields it had a power coupling for farming equipment and it could tow but it also had its own load Bay and with 25 horsepower even early unimogs could reach 31 mph a speed no tractor of the day could match by the early 1950s it had gained the attention of Daimler Benz which bought production and slightly modified the MOG so it could be built in much greater numbers than handbuilt early models its versatility meant it had already exceeded its agricultural Ambitions it had been bought by armies and put to use by utility and emergency services but fundamentally the 401 and 402 models made in the early 1950s were very true to the originals size and purpose this is one right so one of these is kind of where it all started this is a 401 model from 1956 and there's quite a lot of unmarked things in here this is the gear lever the neutral plane is kind of on that sort of plane it's vague is a is a word I would apply to it I need to push this on and then I've got a little glow plug to Stage I've got to wait for it to heat up a little make sure I am in neutral if I start it in gear I could be in trouble neutral is in there somewhere neutral is in here somewhere bear with me a few moments later one hour later keep bearing with me 346 minutes later so that's first and second I think look while I'm dealing with that there are other levers too there's a handbrake lever here there is a diff lock here uh that puts me from front to reverse and there's a power takeoff lever down here as well in principle that is not so different from the new Unimog you see behind me there are three locking differentials I've even got hand throttle here so if I'm working in the field somewhere and my foot would be hitting up and down on the throttle well I can just set this hand throttle to a constant speed so I don't have to worry about that that is very clever right I might start it with a clutch in just to be on the safe side also has a also has a slightly sticky throttle and I'm told the brakes are not all that so one I'm in a 70E old vehicle with a sticking throttle and no R but it's very low geared so that shouldn't be a problem much much much later there it is there's neutral look there's neutral and that I hope is first let's find out oh we're on and that is not second so that is first maybe I'll stick in first so I hope you can hear me the finishing of this modern unor is very different it's a much larger vehicle it's a much heavier vehicle but the principles largely the same there's an engine sort of between between these these days is a mi out of the back but there's an engine about here I fit on top of it the overhangs are absolutely tiny in four-wheel drive there's a locking s this a locking front lock rear differential power take offs if you want it visibility use all right as standard this this route and also this back we got me here these are from a series Land Rover but they KCK the rain off normally as standard it would have had a canvas roof and you could drop the wind screen right now I must say i' rather enjoy I mean I'm moving at no miles hour which is fine it's just so compact everything's got bigger is it the whole world every every machine we seem to deal with has got bigger in some way right I'm going to try second gear that is not second gear why is that not second gear one eternity later that is second gear oh that's better I'm positively cruising it's a joy I mean it's got indicators it's got air conditioning more you want actually it rides quite nicely I can see sort of I can see the I can see the ground Ro through the whole where the pedals go but you know what 1956 if the alternative to one of these was sitting right on the back of a tractor over its back wheels and there's no cous this is just this is just much more pleasant much much more pleasant and it really set the toe for the Unimog as it is today it's an alternative to many agricultural Vehicles it's faster it's more comfortable and while that might not exactly seem like it when you sort of see this compare it to the alternative of the time in the same way that you compare the modern unival to the Alternatives today by the time our 41 model was made Daimler Benz had already begun producing a larger sibling the 404 made from 1955 all the way to 1980 in essence it's more off-road truck than small agricultural vehicle and the Unimog range kind of diverges at this point with a small vehicle and a larger one on sale together and that's still the same now popular with armed forces and utility companies the bigger 404 also introduced a concept that still exists today and which you'll see more of later curved chassis rails connected by torque tubes which lets the entire chassis Flex to increase axle articulation the 404 and its later derivatives also became popular as recreational off-roaders for fun or competition few if any four-wheeled Vehicles could go further off-road so after some time making what Unimog called light medium or heavy series variants producing the city Implement carrier and even an MB track tractor versatility versus off-road ability is how daer truck eventually decided to distinguish between its two very different types of unit so as I showed you at the very start of the vid that today there is the ug Implement carrier the useful vehicle that you might find servicing Railways or clearing snow or Mowing and then there is the big one the2 200,000 extreme off-roader the uh welcome to the inside of the uh which I've got in clutchless mode you can use the clutch if you want but the gearbox you can put in manual or Auto it is in manual I'm in second you pull it up towards you to engage to to get a higher gear and you push it away to get a lower gear you know what the ride is amazingly compliant given given the terrain we are going over it really rounds off the edges it helps the fact that the seats are isolated too I don't know how much that down angle is but all I can see is ground and just sits about 14 under revs and just drags you nicely down PE talk at 1100 revs which is very little I think it used to be higher before these engines were Euro 6 compliant so we go some Moguls mly type things which means one minute all you can see is a normal view the next minute all you can see is ground but it's a real test I think of the of the breakover angle the thing about this thing underneath is that everything that spins oh I should have uh there we go everything that spins is within a torque tube so if you if you hit the bottom of it there's nothing spinning to hit you're just hitting the bottom bit of metal so you've just got to repaint it all of the Air Lines all the electric lines uh all the pneumatic lines go over the top of those two and because it runs portal uh axles which means there's a gear in the axle itself so the axle goes higher than the than the the wheel center if you like which gives it extra ground clearance it also means the differentials can be a bit smaller as well which is not the case uh with all of this car's Rivals and also that differential is slightly offset to one side so it's not hanging in the middle that actually increases ground clearance a little bit a little bit more as well but the really clever bit and this has been a principle since the Unimog was first designed is that the chassis itself as well as the suspension having tremendous movement the chassis itself twists it is designed to do it and the body on the back is kind of mounted on a sort of separate subframe you'll see it it's just sort of mounted on a little B thing and supported either side which means whatever the chassis is doing that load on the back isn't subject to any torsion or changes itself which if you're carrying uh sensitive electronic equipment or you've got a big these These are pretty popular with firefighters if you got a 4,000 L water tank on the back it is quite important that those things don't flex because they need to be tight and electrical equipment needs to be insulated so whatever you've got stays lower GE so we are now in first gear just crawls it is extraordinary this thing I've never been in anything that goes off-road as capably as this it is and I'm not challenging it yet cuz I'm talking to you while an engineer driver by my side so it just directs me where to go now there is a a drop down there that I would not I would not try if I was on my own all you see is ground this is extraordinary this is such a cool thing there's also a central sort of tire pressure changing system so you can change each Tire's pressure independently of each other so on the road I think that might be up to sort of five to six bar but on really loose sand that might go down to one or two 1.2 bar to 1.2 to 1.5 bar something like that I'm about to go through a ridiculously tight is this okay or do I need to go back so we've engaged oh I've hit EC Drive how I know off so at the moment I've got uh 2.5 bar in the front tires and 2.7 in the back you can change it if you are say a firefighter and you're fighting a you're in a pretty awful predicament you're fighting a forest fire you happen to puncture one of your tires or lose one of the tires what you can do is you can pump the other three up the other three remain independent you can drive out on three and then change the tire where you want to but I'm told Overland campers quite like the idea that you can change them independently CU when they set up at night some of them don't like to to lie bound at night in bed to find it's on an angle so they can change the tire pressure and level up the truck nicely how thoughtful is that I think I've turned the lights on maybe they're automatic this thing is an extraordinary piece of Kit I absolutely love it there's a full feature on this over in autocar magazine 2 which you can get on digital subscription or you can get in print as the magazine has been published weekly since 1895 you can find us on all the socials as well we've got an excellent podcast called my week in cars which I commend to you thank you for joining us see you next time\n"