A major step in Mercedes' truck design evolution was the introduction of forward-control, or cab over engine trucks in the mid 1950s. Mercedes had been sceptical at first when it came to such truck designs, although it was 1954 when they began to offer ex-factory forward control models for the export market, and then one year later in 1955 sales began in the home market of Europe.
These were essentially just the popular L 315 conventional bonneted model, but adapted to use a cab supplied by the German coachbuilder Wackenhut. Mercedes had commissioned Wackenhut to design a forward-control twin bunk sleeper cab to their specifications, and Wackenhut built them for multiple years until Mercedes began manufacturing the cabs themselves.
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| LP 315 platform truck |
The model was called the LP 315, the "L" meaning lastwagen (truck) and the "P" standing for pullman. The advantage of the cab over engine design was that the wheelbase could remain the same as its bonneted counterpart, but load space could be increased due to the set-forward cab position, although this did cause a rather large protrusion of the engine hump inside the cab. It was especially advantageous over conventional models at the time of launch as strict new weight and dimension regulations were impending in Germany.
The LP 315 was available as a flatbed truck in multiple wheelbases, as well as a tipper and an articulated tractor. Due to the cab's set forward design, the load platform was able to be extended to six metres, which was an entire metre longer than its bonneted sibling, even though the LP had a slightly shorter wheelbase. This meant that the payload capacity was uprated to 8.2 tonnes compared to the conventional model's 7.2 tonnes.
Underneath the new cab, which was similar in style to Mercedes' bus models of the time, the same engine and technical parts as the bonneted L 315 were used. That was of course the OM 315 8.3 litre six-cylinder diesel engine which produced 145 horsepower, which was connected to the rear axle by a ZF AK 6-55 six-speed manual transmission. One disadvantage of the LP 315 was the restricted ease of access for maintenance, as not all mechanical parts were possible to access through the engine opening inside the cab, meaning the removal of the cab from the chassis would sometimes be required.
Production of the LP 315 forward control model came to an end in 1957 after a relatively low amount of 2,480 units had been built, although it was only the beginning of Mercedes' evolution of cab-over-engine truck design.