When the MAN TG-A was announced in March 2000, with its impressive new cab design, electronic architecture and driveline innovations, made it a serious contender for 2001’s International Truck of the Yeat (IToY), and when the time came for judging, the MAN scored a runaway victory with 114 points.
That year’s competition saw the Renault Midlum come a distant second on 44 points, with the Volvo FL in third on 29, giving MAN a fifth victory to match Volvo’s achievement.
The TG-A took its name from a compound of the words truck and technology – Trucknology Generation A, and the intention stated at the launch was to develop this concept through successive generations, B, C etc, although this idea was quickly dispensed with along with the hyphen, to become simply the TGA in 2001.
MAN’s designers readily acknowledged that the 1999 product range, based on the now-ageing F2000, had left the company in a slightly weak position in some areas, such as the top-end of the tractor unit market, and the ambition for the TG-A was to improve MAN’s sales performance across Europe. At the time MAN held 30% of the 6-tonne-plus German market but only 6% in France and 8% in the UK.
In keeping with technological developments, the TG-A was developed with a full CAN system, facilitating communication between all the electronically controlled components, and the system was developed in-house alongside the serial-production vehicle, rather than in isolation. This approach it was claimed, combined with thorough testing, would ensure the mistakes made by “certain manufacturers” would not afflict the TG-A.
The TG-A featured a new chassis design which offered a front air suspension option with electronically controlled disc brakes on all wheels as standard. The new Brakematic system was a rocker-switch actuated design which combined the engine brake and retarder with the cruise control. The rear axle was another new development, being lighter and more compact than its predecessor.
The initial engine offering was carried over from the F2000 Evolution models and comprised of the 12-litre D2866 rated at 310hp, 360hp or 410hp and the 12.8-litre D2876 rated at 460hp, with a 510hp variant added during 2000. Both Euro-2 and Euro-3 models were initially offered, with the latter featuring 4-valve technology and becoming the first heavy truck diesels in production to use Exhaust Gas Recirculation.
New transmission choices came from adaptations of ZF hardware. The standard “Comfort Shift” was the 16-speed Ecosplit with hydraulic shift and an automated clutch function for high range which was operated by a gear-lever-mounted button. Alternatively, the TipMatic was the 12-speed ASTronic gearbox, matched to MAN software which offered fully-automated changing or a semi-automatic mode operated by a column-mounted stalk.
The primary focus of the TG-A was the all-new cab, available in five different forms. The 2.44m-wide version was known as the XL in standard-sleeper form, or XXL as a high-roof sleeper with an exceptionally deep windscreen. The 2.24m-wide models were designated M in day cab form, L in sleeper form and LX as a high-roof sleeper.
The finish and build quality of the vehicles, and the standard of the new cab made a significant impression in the contemporary press with commentators convinced that the TG-A would indeed cement MAN amongst Europe’s elite.
Words & Pics supplied by Richard Stanier. Credit – IToY
