Mercedes-Benz L 311

The Mercedes-Benz L 311 was a light bonnet-type diesel truck built from the second half of 1949 at the Mercedes-Benz works in Mannheim. It was sold as the L 3250 in 1949, as the L 3500 from 1950 after its payload rose, and from 1955 as the L 311; the stronger L 312 followed in 1953 for operators who overloaded their trucks. Variants included the LK 311 tipper, the four-wheel-drive LA 311 and the cab-over LP 311 chassis, which outside firms fitted with cabs and bodies. All used the OM 312 six-cylinder pre-chamber diesel of 4.6 litres, at first 90 PS, which earned the trucks the nickname 90er Mercedes, later 100 PS. About 55,000 were built, 3,000 of them with all-wheel drive, and in its day it was one of the best selling light trucks in Germany. Cab-over chassis production ended at Mannheim in January 1961 and the bonnet trucks followed in May 1961.