Le Grande Mack

If ever there was a truck that defined the 1990s, it has to be the towering Renault Magnum. There had never been anything like it before and to be honest, there’s never been anything quite like it since

- Bob Beech

The Magnum broke new ground and started trends that continue with modern truck design today.

The original concept of a very high-mounted cab with a flat floor, that was completely separated from the chassis and driveline, was first introduced in the Renault Virages advanced concept truck back in the ‘80s. It is quite incredible that the designers initiating the project in 1979, were visualising something so advanced just five years after the Atkinson Borderer, with its fibreglass and timber framed cab went out of production.

This French concept vehicle was shown to the world in a couple of different forms and working prototypes were built and tested out on the road; it was Renault’s answer to the future challenges faced by long distance European hauliers.

There was a lot of hope and optimism at the time, the removal of borders between EU member states was just a few years away, Communism was collapsing in Eastern Europe, international trade was expanding dramatically and hauliers were sending their vehicles further from base. Journey times were coming down dramatically as the international road network was expanding.

Drivers, quite rightly, demanded better, more powerful and comfortable trucks if they were expected to be away from home for longer. Operators wanted reliable fuel-efficient drivelines and expected this new breed of truck to require less maintenance and give greater productivity.