Mercedes-Benz short-bonnet trucks

The Mercedes-Benz Kurzhauber, or short-bonnet truck, is a conventional cab-after-engine truck made from 1959 to the present day. To meet the stricter German length rules of the Seebohm laws, the cab was pushed forward to cover part of the engine under the windscreen, shortening the truck while keeping the flatbed length. The first model, the L 337, was produced in Germany in 1959, and its technical successors were built for export until 1995, long after German domestic sales had ended. Medium trucks such as the L 323 and L 327 with inline-six diesels were built at Mannheim, heavier ones at Gaggenau, and the 5.7 litre OM 352 of 1964, the first Mercedes-Benz direct-injection diesel, spread through the range. The trucks became a big export success, notably in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, South America and Africa.