The release of Tatra’s Phoenix was the beginning of a surge of interest in a brand that had operated largely in the shadows of the big European manufacturers.
Distributed in Australia by Off Road Trucks Australia (OTA), the company earned most of its stripes supplying European military forces and as a result, its general-purpose trucks carried the same extreme-duty driveline and were aimed squarely at the heavy-duty off-road market.
Styling-wise Tatra has never been known as a front runner. Indeed, its boxy cabs, generously described as ‘functional’ have all seemed to echo the 50s or earlier. But in 2011 Tatra enlisted DAF Trucks to supply the cab from its CF mid-range model, bringing with it contemporary styling and all the electronics that enabled Tatra to rise from the past into the current millennium. Hence, Phoenix.
The latest version shifts up another gear, with the cab from DAF’s XD range – bigger, quieter, packed with more digital driver aids, including a 100 per cent digital dash with current entertainment units, and endowed with vastly improved vision from a deeper windscreen cut. Air seats are standard for both driver and passenger.
Also included is DAF’s GSR radar package, which enables key safety features such as drive-off assist, side and turn assist, lane departure warning, speed limit recognition, adaptive cruise control and emergency brake assist.
The package complies with Europe’s mandatory safety program requirements for all heavy-duty trucks.
Admittedly, lane assist is not going to help much in the boondocks, where many Tatra’s live, but hey, you have to get there right?
The engine remains PACCAR’s Euro VI MX-13, but horsepower is bumped up from 480hp to 530hp. The engine still drives through either ZF’s 12-speed TraXon 2 AMT or the Allison 4500 full automatic.
The chassis remains the same, with the unique tubular spine that fully encloses the drive shafts and locates each swing-axle set in modules.
This maximises damage protection and allows combinations of single or dual wheel set-ups, steers or fixed, but importantly allows extensive customisation for specific applications. OTA’s national sales manager, Lee Morley, is working with a customer on a couple of 16×16 chassis that will support cloud-scraping 104-metre aerial work platforms.
With the three axles at the front and rear steerable, the platform pivots on the central bogie to allow a steering circle that would otherwise take up half the MCG.
Driving a Tatra on highly irregular surfaces illustrates the remarkable suspension travel for each wheel and highlights the stability of the chassis no matter what the terrain. Keeping each wheel in contact with the road surface is key to Tatra’s off-road traction expertise. Air or air/mechanical combo suspension depends on the application, as does the option for hub-reduction.
Efficiencies in weight reduction has allowed the truck to retain the same tare weight while improving performance ratings. GVM on the base chassis is up from 41 to 43-tonnes, while the 8×8 is rated at 52-tonnes.
The configuration ranges from 4×4 through to the gargantuan 16×16 already mentioned. Dual front axles are also up 2-tonnes, from 18 to 20. A single steer is up 1-tonne.
Tatra’s bullet-proof 2-speed transfer case, on the scene for decades, remains in place, still as Lee Morley described, “oversized and over-engineered.”
All the bodies on the Phoenix are now locally built and include side underrun protection barriers.
Tatra’s Phoenix has been largely responsible for boosting OTA’s annual Tatra volume by a handy 300 per cent or so.
Although the ‘under-the-skin’ engineering, which delivers unmatched off-road performance, especially when running rigs at maximum GVM, boosts tare weight to a level well beyond trucks aimed at metro and suburban freight applications, this new model will help make many more friends in fleets that need an unstoppable platform for bush work where even the dirt roads have disappeared.
Dropping down the model range, the Tatra Force has also received a significant rework, once again particularly with the cab.
Available in both crew and single configuration, the new Force brings 2025 styling angularity to the emergency fire and rescue crowd.
Admittedly the visual impact of the Force is purely business-like and designed with the likelihood that the truck will be required to keep humans alive in the most dangerous and drastic conditions.
So much so that the European Red Dot Awards singled out the Force for excellence in product design, referencing the truck’s intense focus on safety and functionality for an emergency crew and its equipment.
The new Force replaces the venerable T815-2 model. Rather than being DAF inspired, the all-new cab is designed and engineered by Tatra.
The crew version has an optional in-built cabin ROPS, whereas the standard has optional ROPS and FOPS. The engine is a Cummins L96, a nine-litre inline 6-cylinder with 400hp and EURO VI emissions standard.
The truck has all the current radar systems, but because of the emergency services requirements, the ABS and all the digital safety equipment is switchable. The driver can disable features in conditions where those systems would compromise the absolute need to push through.
Additionally, if the DPF requires a regeneration, the driver will be alerted but the system will not derate the engine, which might put the truck in dangerous circumstances.
Same deal if the AdBlue runs out – it won’t stop or derate the engine either. In short, the crew will be able to maintain full power when they need it.
The cab has all power windows and air conditioning front and rear. Wiring is shielded against intense heat conditions. Transmission is a ZF TraXon AMT with the Allison auto as an option. The Cummins-Allison combination is the combo-of-choice by firies and mining customers.
The driveline includes the standard Tatra two-speed transfer case and the chassis in this model is the same as the previous. The 4×4 has a 20-ton GVM and there is a potential for 6×6 and 8×8 down the road, but that’s not confirmed yet.
Three wheelbases are available, 4090, 4500 and 4874mm. Suspension has three selectable levels, which can be managed by the driver from the cabin. The lowest drops the truck down on the bump stops to ease servicing the extensive fire equipment that is almost standard on these rigs.
The normal is for transit work, and there’s a raised version for certain off-road work. Both two-wheel and all-wheel drive can be run on bitumen.
As with all Tatras, all axle diffs and the centre diff are all lockable. So, on this truck, the driver does a bit more than just steer it and use their feet – safety systems, the ride height, and the traction control are all switchable at their fingertips.
There are discs all round and the chassis is specifically designed for fire modules with a lower profile than the Phoenix. The chassis rails are a complete box section.
With huge interest in this truck in Queensland, New South Wales, and WA’s DFES, OTA is expecting strong demand for emergency vehicles in both the fire and mine site sectors.