Australian truck buyers are always on the look-out for a longer cabin length and will be asking the question, is the Scania big cab coming to Australia?
In a low-key press release, which did not originate from Scania themselves, but from long term collaborators, Laxå Special Vehicles, it was announced that R and S Series Scania cabs will be available to be specified with 270 mm extra length.
This extra length on a cabover truck will be seen as an attractive option by the Scania organisation here in Australia, where both Kenworth and Volvo offer a longer cabin to the local market. Scania have stated, “Scania Australia is assessing the possibility of releasing this cab on the Australian market. Investigation is currently underway to accurately understand how these modifications will affect weight distribution and product packaging.”
Laxå were the specialist truck builder behind the Longline extra length cabins sold by Scania back in the noughties, with limited success due to the extremely tight European length rules. The company also build the Scania range of crew cabs, which have been successful in the Australian fire truck market.
Reports suggest Scania will introduce a new extended length version of its R and S series cabs. The CR23 and CS23 cabs, which will have the addition 270mm behind the B-pillar. Images suggest the new design involves replacing the rear wall of the cabin with an extended version of the panel giving the extra space, in a similar fashion to the XXL cabin from Volvo.
“With the introduction of CR23 and CS23, Scania raises the bar for premium trucks even higher,” said Stefan Dorski, Senior Vice President, Head of Trucks at Scania Group, according to the Laxå article. “We will blend some of the capabilities from our Scania CrewCab into our premium cabs in the R and S series. By doing that we add generous space that brings extra comfort and opens up for a multitude of creative solutions.
“Scania’s plan is to have these cabs certified with a Whole Vehicle Type Approval in Q4 this year. Some countries will initially have these vehicles certified separately on their respective markets.”
At the moment there is no certainty that these trucks will be made any time soon as right hand drive models, as Scania GB hasn’t confirmed whether the extended cab will be available to UK customers.
“Since the 1960’s Scania has taken great pride in its modular system, and our engineers pay careful attention during the development phase to ensure interfaces are standardised so vehicles can be anything but,” said Vincente Connolly, Scania UK Sales Director, in a report by Commercial Motor. “The ability to combine components in new and diverse ways allow us to be agile and creative in our thinking.
“The new CR23 and CS23 cabs show how the modularity in the mindset can be adapted to suit new and varied applications, the cabs improve the volume by circa 13 per cent, offering additional space and comfort for the driver.”
