Duff's all-new generation of truck products was released in June 2021, including XF, XG, XG+ models. All three models combine DUF's efforts with oversized cab space, innovative in-vehicle technology, comfort and efficient transportation. As soon as it was released, it was loved by major European companies and drivers, and successfully won the title of Truck of the Year.
As the largest newer truck in DUF's history, the development of a new generation of trucks began in 2014. At the time, the European Union was working on new truck regulations, such as cabs and new emission standards. At the same time, the current DUF XF trucks at that time were slightly old. Although the Super Space Cab cab provides excellent space, comfort and safety have gradually kept pace with the times. In 2015, DUF launched the development of a new generation of trucks, bringing the new generation to market after a six-year development process. During these six years, DUFF developed a number of prototypes to validate the technology on a new generation of trucks. In today's article, Tigot Commercial Vehicle Network takes you to the hero behind the new generation of DUF trucks.
The first prototype was born in 2015, which is the DUF XF truck numbered 15001. The main purpose of the 15001 prototype is to verify the layout of the chassis structure of the new car. As can be seen, the chassis part of this DUF XF is slightly extended forward. The planned powertrain placement has changed, moving slightly forward, which is the main reason for the "big chin" of the 15001 car.
As the earliest prototype in the new generation of truck development plans, it still contributes a lot to the entire project. Car 15001 validates the new powertrain arrangement and has modified the cab suspension. The cab of the new generation of trucks will be larger and heavier, so it was tested in advance.
In addition, the 15001 car also more or less verified some subsystems of the new car. Valuable results such as radar for cruise control, new vision systems and other electronic components allowed DUF to collect a lot of data, and the development plan for the new car was on track.
Next to the 15001 is a conceptual model of the front half of the cab of a new truck. At this stage, DUF began to carry out the basic design of the cab shape of the new generation of trucks in the future. At first, DUF's engineers decided to let the front of the vehicle protrude more forward, resulting in a very smooth arc shape. As can be seen from the silhouette, it also continues to use the headlights of the DUF XF at that time.
This model is usually hung on the 15001 car for driving testing. There are many strips of cloth pasted around to simply and intuitively show the air flow effect on the side of the vehicle. In DUF's tests, this shape was able to reduce a lot of air resistance, but due to too much intrusion into the interior space of the cab, the final solution did not use such a large front face tilt angle.
The vehicle next to the cab model is codenamed 12063 and it is also called "Party Animals". The 12063 is also the most complete vehicle in the early stages of the development of the new generation of trucks. Many people jokingly call the new generation of Duff trucks like scania's illegitimate children, which is also reflected in 12063. The front cover design and roof design of the vehicle more or less borrow from the scania model, especially the area under the windshield, which is very similar to the front logo area of scania. In addition, the bumper design of the vehicle and the contour design of the headlights were also determined.
At this time, the cab door cannot be opened, so if you want to get on and off the car, you have to enter through the small door behind the cab. The door is made of wooden doors, and the sides of the chassis are also wrapped in wooden materials, which is still very interesting. The 12603 validates key parameters such as the drivetrain and cab contour of next-generation trucks. At this point, the development of DAF's new generation of trucks has entered the stage of detail refinement.
After 12603, these three prototypes were used. They are prototypes 17077, 19004 and 20022 from left to right. The evolution of these three prototypes is also the evolution of THE NEW GENERATION OF DUF TRUCKS. The first two prototypes used simple headlights, and the third prototype added headlights. In addition, their rearview mirror shells and cab contours have also been modified and improved little by little.
The 20022 is the most complete of the three prototypes, installing a complete new generation of vehicle subsystems, integrating new cab trims, and experimenting with new headlight components. It conducted tens of thousands of kilometers of experiments on the road and was also a frequent visitor to the media news of major commercial vehicles at the time.
The last prototype introduced is the 21039, which was born in early 2021 as a pre-production truck. This means that its technical parameters and configurations are not much different from those of the final mass-produced truck. The main task of the 21039 truck is to conduct a final road test, catching and modifying a wide variety of small problems. After that, the technical status of the truck is frozen and the batch production phase begins. In March 2021, the Dutch magazine Truckstar captured its road test footage, which was also the first time that the outside world received the impression of a new generation of DAF trucks.
From left to right, from old to new. Putting them together with the final production trucks, it's not hard to see how they evolved. Six years of Taoguang cultivation and intensive research have created excellent products. If it doesn't sound, it's already a hit. With a new generation of trucks, DUF has gained a foothold in the first echelon of commercial vehicles in Europe.
The cars that appear in today's article are not all prototypes. Nearly 100 prototypes were involved in the development of the new generation of trucks to complete this grand plan. At the end of the article, let's once again review the development process of Duff's new generation of trucks through this panoramic photo.
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Text: Heseaotter