Details of Cars

KamAZ-4326: the two-axle all-terrain KamAZ

KAMAZ

KamAZ-4326-9 rally truck in the UMMC museum
The Dakar Rally KamAZ-4326-9 in the UMMC museum, Verkhnyaya Pyshma. Photo by Лапоть, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The KamAZ-4326 is the two-axle member of the family: a 4×4 all-terrain lorry in production since 1995. It is shorter and lighter than the six-wheeled KamAZ-43114, and its chassis has served as the base for everything from a Dakar racer to an armoured car.

KamAZ-4326 at a glance

KamAZ-4326 key facts
Maker KamAZ, Naberezhnye Chelny
Series production since 1995
Layout 4×4, permanent all-wheel drive
Kerb weight 8,025 kg
Payload 3,275 kg
Gross weight 11,600 kg
Engine KamAZ-740.31-240, 10.85 l V8, Euro 2
Power 176 kW (240 hp)
Gearbox ten-speed manual
Tyres 425/85 R21 with pressure regulation
Flatbed 4,800 × 2,320 mm
Wading depth 1.5 m
Top speed 90 km/h

History of the KamAZ-4326

The story of the 4326 began in the 1980s, when the plant built prototypes of a two-axle all-terrain truck on the basis of the KamAZ-4310 and already gave them the 4326 designation. With the factory busy producing more than 110,000 trucks a year, the model did not reach series production. The idea was taken up again after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and series manufacture began in 1995 without major changes to the design.

KamAZ-4326 at a rally raid
A KamAZ-4326 4×4 at the Simbirsk Tract rally raid. Photo by Якупов Рамиль, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The truck uses a large-volume diesel and a gearbox of the plant’s own making. Permanent all-wheel drive, large single tyres on all wheels and a wading depth of 1.5 m give it the mobility its role demands; the wheels carry a tyre-pressure regulation system, the cab is the familiar high-roof type over the engine with a sleeping place, and the flatbed measures 4,800 by 2,320 mm with 500 mm sides. The lorry weighs 8,025 kg empty, carries 3,275 kg and reaches 90 km/h; its turning circle is 11.3 m and it climbs a 31 per cent gradient.

A version with a wheelbase about 50 cm shorter, the KamAZ-43261, has been made since the early 2000s. A more modern successor, the KamAZ-4350, appeared in 2003, and since at least 2015 the 4326 has no longer been offered to private customers. The model also spawned the AZ-40/4 (43261) fire engine, the AZ-4-2.5 (4326) fire truck, the NefAZ-42111 personnel body, bodies for winter service and the KamAZ-4326-9 that raced in the Dakar Rally. The armoured KamAZ-43269, better known as the BPM-97, was built on the same chassis.

Design and features

  • Permanent four-wheel drive: single off-road tyres on both axles with tyre-pressure regulation.
  • Deep wading: the truck is rated to ford 1.5 m of water.
  • Own driveline: a large-volume KamAZ diesel with a gearbox of the plant’s own manufacture.
  • Short-wheelbase option: the KamAZ-43261, about 50 cm shorter.
  • Many offspring: fire engines, personnel bodies and the BPM-97 armoured car were built on it.

KamAZ-4326 versions

  • KamAZ-4326: the basic flatbed of 1995.
  • KamAZ-43261: a version with a wheelbase shortened by about 50 cm.
  • AZ-40/4 (43261) and AZ-4-2.5 (4326): fire appliances on the chassis.
  • NefAZ-42111: a closed body for carrying people, also as a combination bus.
  • KamAZ-4326-9: the Dakar Rally racing truck.
  • KamAZ-43269: the armoured car later known as the BPM-97.

The six-wheeled KamAZ-43114 is very similar but has three axles, and the armoured KamAZ-43269 (BPM-97) uses this chassis. More trucks are in the KamAZ collection.

Sources

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