After Fuso announced just a few weeks ago that a 510hp version of its flagship Shogun was on its way, the Daimoer owned Japanese truck brand has announced the Shogun 510 is now available in Australia and revealed it took a lot of hard lobbying by the local operation to get the truck built
The new ‘Big Banger’ Shogun is the highest horsepower Euro 6 Japanese truck available and according to Daimler it has rocked the Japanese heavy-duty truck segment with the Australian launch of the Shogun 510.
The range-topping Shogun was specially developed for Australia and NZ and was a pet project for Daimler Trucks Australia boss, Daniel Whitehead, who championed the idea with the corporation’s senior management in Germany and Japan, to create, a truck that many of those managers believed Australia didn’t need.
“Not everyone was convinced that there was a need for 500 horsepower Japanese truck in Australia,” Daniel Whitehead told T&B News during a phone hook up this week.
”It was a long arduous argument, some didn’t believe our numbers. , we put a strong business case for it and we backed it, and now the business case has been proved,” Whitehead told us.
“We ordered in enough trucks to pay back the whole business case and they’ve been sold before they’ve even been produced. So the business case is actually positive before the first bit of metal goes into the factory, they’re already sold, not paid for yet, but we have firm orders,” he said.
Australian interest in the 13-litre Shogun 510 saw more than 50 orders placed prior to its official launch.
Whitehead said he has made plenty of noise to let all the nay-sayers who didn’t believe him.
Whitehead said there was a gap in the market and everyone was a bit surprised no one had filled it following the UD decision to pull the high horsepower engine out of its heavy duty.
“We pushed hard to get the 13-litre engine into the Shogun for our market because our customers made it clear they wanted a Japanese heavy-duty truck with serious performance,” he said.
“We’re glad it has joined the line-up because the Shogun 510 is the perfect example of how the global strength and engineering might of Daimler Trucks gives our Australian customers a real competitive advantage,” he said.
“The feedback from customers and in partiucar those who were very keen on a Japanese high horsepower truck, was that they wanted exactly that, and also for our Kiwi friends who needed a bigger horsepower Fuso to tackle the big hills over there,” said Whitehead.
While he said the Shogun 510 is basically designed for Australia and New Zealand, it’s going to be available to anyone who wants it in the Daimler world.
“I’m not sure who else will take it, maybe Japan or South Africa as well, because they’re also right-hand drive, I don’t know what they’re planning on doing because we’ve been very insular in our view that we were just trying to get it for here and New Zealand, because the whole business case was based on Australia and New Zealand, if anyone else takes it, it’ll be a bonus to the business case,” he explained
Daimler’s Fuso Truck and Bus Australia director, Alex Müller said they really thought it would be as a chance to utilise Daimler technology and to bring that into Fuso products.
“The market is looking for a strong pull from a Japanese truck, and so here we go and it’s going to be very important to us,” said Müller.
Daimler says the 510 will hold a massive torque advantage over its rivals and that its Euro 6 rating and fuel efficiency will be big pluses for fleets with an interest in emission reduction.
The new Fuso flagship has been designed for metro and intrastate transport, and is rated at 63-tonnes GCM, with the ability to haul a single or double trailer set or as a brawny tipper and dog combination.
The truck is available as either a 6×4 prime mover or as a rigid and its 13-litre Daimler OM471 six-cylinder engine hits its maximum power output at 1600rpm while its maximum torque of 2500Nm is available from just 1100rpm.
Daimler says that 86 per cent of maximum torque is available from 800rpm, while 84 per cent of maximum torque is still available at 1700rpm.
The advanced OM471 six-cylinder features an asymmetric turbocharger and the latest generation common rail system with variable pressure boosting for ultimate fuel efficiency.
A 12-speed fully automated transmission (AMT) features the clever EcoRoll system, while a powerful three-stage engine braking system gives the driver more control.
Fuso says its engineers have carried out extensive testing of the Shogun 510 throughout the development process, including an outback Australian test of an initial prototype in 2017. Extensive hot weather durability testing was also carried out in South Africa and a final production-ready test was undertaken in Australia and New Zealand.
The Fuso says the Shogun is now available with 8-litre, 11-litre and 13-litre engines, with 360, 400, 460 and now 510hp. Configurations include 6×4 and 4×2 prime movers and tippers and 8×4, 6×4 and 6×2 rigids, including the recently-introduced 14-pallet Shogun 360. There is a mixture of air and steel spring rear suspension options and Limited Slip Differentials (LSD) are available.
An active safety package that sets a new bar for safety in the Japanese heavy-duty class is standard across the range.
Fuso Truck and Bus Australia Director, Alex Müller, says the arrival of the Shogun 510 represents an important milestone for Fuso in Australia.
“The introduction of the Shogun 510 means Fuso is now an even stronger contender in the Australian heavy-duty segment,” Mr Müller says.
“Fuso has been steadily growing our share of the heavy duty market and the new 510 model, as well as the renewal of the entire Shogun range, will help us attract even more heavy-duty customers. It is another example of Fuso delivering practical innovations that help our customers get the job done reliably and safely,” he adds.
Daimler says the new Shogun range further raises safety levels with new and upgraded safety features that are unmatched by its Japanese heavy duty rivals.
Upgraded Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) technology and an enhanced Active Attention Assist (AAA) system further improve Shogun’s impressive safety credentials.
Rigid Shogun models, with a wheelbase of more than 4300mm, come standard with Active Sideguard Assist. The latest version of this smart safety system uses a radar to detect a vehicle, cyclist, pedestrian or any physical obstruction on the passenger side blind spot when the truck turning left or moving into a lane to the left and issue a warning. It can now also initiate braking in addition to the warning in order to avoid or mitigate a collision or impact at speeds of up to 15km/h.
All Shogun models benefit from the latest generation of the AEBS that now uses camera and radar camera technology to provide enhanced pedestrian sensing capability, making it able to completely stop for a moving pedestrian in the event the driver does not respond to an audible warning. This system is standard on all Shogun models, as is radar adaptive cruise control.
Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), a driver airbag, Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Hill Start System (HSS) assistance function continue as standard elements of the Shogun safety package
