Keep on trucking: Mercedes-Benz reveals new-generation Zetros

摘要

The Zetros concept - also known as the S2000 -was unveiled publicly in June 2000, with the first serial production examples emerging eight years later. The second-generation Zetros was unveiled by Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks in October 2019, and while visually similar to first-generation models, it benefitted from a complete re-working, according to the company. This included limited but important styling changes, as well as a new chassis and a revised selection of engines and gearboxes. Unlike earlier Mercedes-Benz designs, the Zetros was not created with mainstream European markets as a priority, commercial truck legislation having ensured these are now almost wholly the domain of cab-over-engine (COE) designs. Instead the design was, from the outset, optimised for markets with limited infrastructure. Operating profiles were predicted to feature a bias towards off-highway use, in climatic extremes, and regions where poor quality and/or high-sulphur fuel is most common.