Mercedes Benz UNIMOG 405/40

One detail reveals its origin better than any description: the track width of 1,270 mm was chosen because it matches the width of two potato rows. The Unimog was first of all an agricultural machine. To that came two power take-off shafts of 22 hp each for implements and all-wheel drive with separately engageable axles.

Technically defining are the portal axles. They place the half-shafts above the wheel centre, raising ground clearance considerably — the reason a Unimog still moves where others ground out.

In 1953 the 401 and 402 series brought substantial developments, including for the first time a closed, impact-resistant all-steel cab in place of the previous folding roof. From 1963 a medium-duty range followed under the designation 406, with a longer wheelbase of 2,380 mm and more than twice the engine output of the 401.

Anyone assessing a used vehicle should therefore identify the series number first. It says more about size, power class and intended use than any equipment list — between a 401 and a 406 lie ten years and an entire vehicle class.