Engineering:Mercedes-Benz L 206

The Mercedes-Benz L 206, commonly known as the Harburger Transporter, was a series of light commercial vehicles marketed under the Tempo, Hanomag, Hanomag-Henschel, and ultimately Mercedes-Benz brands.

"Harburger Transporter" was a colloquial name and was never used as an official type designation.

History

The vehicle was based on the Matador model produced by the Vidal & Sohn Tempo-Werk in Hamburg-Harburg. After Tempo was acquired by Hanomag in 1965, the vehicles were produced from 1966 as Rheinstahl-Hanomag models. In 1967, the Matador received a new body with a less rounded front end and rectangular headlights. It was offered under the names Hanomag F 20, F 25, F 30, and F 35. In 1969, the commercial vehicle divisions of Hanomag and Henschel merged to form Hanomag-Henschel. The vehicles were subsequently sold under the Hanomag-Henschel brand. As the plant in Hamburg-Harburg was operating at full capacity producing the transporters, the models were also built from 1969 at the former Borgward plant in Bremen-Sebaldsbrück, which Rheinstahl-Hanomag had acquired from Borgward's bankruptcy estate.

Just one year later, in 1970, Daimler-Benz acquired Hanomag-Henschel. The transporter was subsequently also offered as a Mercedes-Benz model. The Hanomag-Henschel and Mercedes-Benz versions were largely identical apart from lettering, brand emblems, and type designations ("Badge engineering"), although there were differences in technical details, such as the brakes.

For Daimler-Benz, the Harburg Transporters provided a useful addition to the lower end of the existing transporter range, as the company had previously not been represented in this vehicle class. The Mercedes-Benz versions received the type designations L 206 D, L 207, L 306 D, and L 307.

In 1973, the Hanomag-Henschel transporter was further developed. The cab mounting was revised, with new rubber elements preventing the excessive tilting of the cab in corners that had occurred previously. In addition to revisions to the instrument panel, the crank windows were eliminated as a cost-saving measure and replaced by sliding windows. From this point onward, a dual-circuit braking system with brake-force regulation on the rear axle was used. The fuel tank capacity was increased to 60 litres. The exterior, however, remained largely unchanged.^[1]

Production of the Harburg Transporter never reached the levels of its main competitors, such as the Volkswagen Transporter or the Ford Transit. The last vehicles were produced under the Hanomag-Henschel name in 1975, while production under the Mercedes-Benz name continued until 1977. Bajaj Tempo produced the model in India under the name Force Matador. In 1977, it was succeeded by the rear-wheel-drive "Bremer Transporter", the Mercedes-Benz T 1. Daimler-Benz did not offer a vehicle similar to the Harburg Transporter, with a twin-tube frame and front-wheel drive, again until 1988, when it introduced the Spanish-built Mercedes-Benz MB 100 to the German market. The MB 100, however, originally derived from the DKW Schnellaster, which had been built under licence in Spain by IMOSA.

Technical features

The Harburg Transporters had a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout and a chassis consisting of two tubes that were bent outward behind the cab. The front wheels were suspended by double wishbones with torsion bar suspension, using longitudinally positioned torsion-bar assemblies. The trailing-arm rear axle with torsion-bar suspension, using a torsion-bar assembly, allowed for a continuous, flat, low loading floor; two track-width variants were offered. After Mercedes-Benz acquired Hanomag-Henschel, a live axle with leaf springs was used at the rear. To accommodate this, the frame tubes behind the cab were bent outward slightly to increase the available space. The simple construction kept production costs low.

Both diesel and petrol engines were available. The diesel engines initially came from Hanomag, with the D301 producing 50 PS (37 kW). After the acquisition by Daimler-Benz, Mercedes-Benz engines of the OM615 type were installed, producing either 55 PS (40 kW) or 60 PS (44 kW). The petrol engines, initially producing 54 PS (40 kW) and later 70 PS (55 kW), were sourced from the British manufacturer Austin. The gross vehicle weight ranged from 2,000 kg to 3,550 kg.

The Harburg Transporters were offered as minibuses and panel vans in different heights and lengths. Pickup versions were built with single, double, and triple cabs, with either high- or low-mounted beds and different track widths. Body manufacturers also offered mobile sales vehicles and motorhomes.