Did you know that Unimog is an acronym? It stands for “Universal Motor Gerät” which is German for Universal Motor Device.
They weren’t originally developed by Mercedes-Benz, but by a company called “Erhard und Soehne” and built by a truck company called “Boehringer”. However, Mercedes took over the operations in 1951 and they have carried the three pointed star ever since.
The U400 is the smallest in the current Unimog line-up. The bigger U5000 versions are more off-road focused, whereas this one is more like a cross between a tractor and a truck, built for carrying equipment and other heavy duty usage.
The ways in which Unimogs have been used is almost infinite, and the number of varieties built over the year has been mind boggling.
Due to their off-road capabilities, Unimogs can be found in jungles, mountains and deserts as military vehicles, fire fighters, expedition campers, and even in competitions like truck trials and Dakar Rally rally raids. In Western Europe, they are commonly used as snowploughs, municipal equipment carriers, agricultural implements, construction equipment and road-rail vehicles.
Civilian or military applications, the Unimog has them all.
