As a connoisseur of old vehicles, I am always on the lookout for them and coming across this 1996 Iveco Eurotrakker MP380 was entirely accidental, yet intriguing! I had no idea that we still had it here (although registered as a concrete pump), especially since Iveco is not exactly prominent in Asia at least.
Iveco was incorporated on 1 Jan 1975, with the merger of five different brands: FIAT Veicoli Industriali (with headquarters in Turin), OM (Brescia, Italy), Lancia Veicoli Speciali (Italy), Unic (France), and Magirus-Deutz (Germany). It is an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation. Numerous vehicles were sold under the Iveco brand with almost 600 versions in 1979. In 1986, Iveco entered into a joint venture with Ford of Europe's truck division and also purchased 60% control of Spanish industrial company ENASA in 1990, which owned the industrial vehicle builder Pegaso. Iveco trucks continue to be made today; although it maintains a presence in Singapore, it does not have much brand recognition here.
First introduced in 1993, the Eurotrakker was the successor to the Iveco 330 model. It was well-suited for off-road conditions where standard road trucks would struggle, such as in construction sites, quarries, and heavy transport applications where reliability was paramount. As it was designed for worldwide sales, the Eurotrakker was made in both LHD and RHD configurations. Stylistically, the front grille recalled the family look of the Iveco range of the time and was similar to the Eurotech road model from which it inherited the cabin and some mechanical components.
It had a facelift in 2000 and an automatic transmission was introduced in 2001. This unit was powered by a 13,798 cc Fiat 8210 inline-6 engine, making 380 horsepower. It weighed 28,120 kg unladen with a maximum laden weight of 38,000 kg.
Production of the Eurotrakker ended in 2004 where it was replaced by the ongoing Trakker model. Interestingly, this unit has been registered under the restricted usage scheme as a concrete pump, although it would not have made much of a difference if it had not been registered; it has to be towed at all times when traveling on the roads. On the other hand, there is no lifespan restriction unlike regular commercial vehicles and it is exempted from road tax as well. I am aware of another unregistered Eurotrakker but I am not sure what happened to it currently.
Based on old newspaper records, Zenith Engineering Pte Ltd was the distributor of Iveco products in 1981, although it is unclear how this unit was brought in. Champion Motors Pte Ltd was also noted to be the distributor of the Iveco Daily range of vans, though old advertisements did not make reference to Iveco trucks being sold on the second-hand market. Regardless of the lack of information for old Iveco trucks, seeing this unusual relic is always a treat and I hope you may catch a glimpse of it some day!
