Leyland Roadtrain

The Leyland Roadtrain was a forward-control long-distance tractor unit and the first model of the T45 project, the modernisation of the lorry range of the British Leyland Motor Corporation. It was presented in 1980 and built from 1981 to 1990. The T45 cab was shaped in a wind tunnel together with Ogle Design and used 120 common parts and 40 model-specific ones across the whole range from 10 to 38 tonnes, in normal or high-roof form with a day cab or a sleeper. The Roadtrain was a 6x2 with a 280 PS Leyland TL12 engine based on the older O.680, with Spicer split gearboxes; Rolls-Royce Eagle and Cummins engines were options, and a 14 litre Cummins NTE of 350 PS followed at the end of 1982. It was chosen Truck of the Year in 1981, and early cabs suffered corrosion until galvanised steel was used from 1987. An 8x6 version served the British Army as the DROPS vehicle, and from 1990 the truck was sold as the Leyland-DAF 70-80 until the DAF 85 replaced it in 1994.