The Unic Izoard was the heavy truck range with which the French maker entered the 1970s. The 270 A2 of 1970 was its first model with the Fiat type H forward-control cab; the 340 A added a 14,886 cc V8 and became the most powerful Unic of its time. Both were built until 1975, when Fiat replaced them with its own new heavy range.
Unic Izoard at a glance
| Maker | Unic-Fiat, French subsidiary of Fiat V.I. |
|---|---|
| Production | 1970–1975 |
| Cab | Fiat V.I. type H forward control, with two bunks |
| Engine, 270 A2 | M 62 S V8 diesel, 10,766 cc |
| Engine, 340 A | V 85 S V8 diesel, 14,886 cc, 340 hp SAE (307 hp DIN) at 2,400 rpm, 110 mkg at 1,400 rpm |
| Gearbox, 340 A | Fiat E90, 5+5 synchronized |
| Rear axle, 340 A | Fiat double reduction |
| 270 A2 versions | 4×2 rigid 19 t, 6×2 rigid 26 t, 4×2 tractor 19 t |
| 340 A versions | 4×2 rigid 16 or 19 t, 6×2 22–26 t, 6×4 26 t, 8×4 28 t, tractors 35–40 t |
| Homologation | T 270 A2 23 April 1970; P 270 A2 5 April 1971; T 340 A 25 March 1970; P 340 A 2 April 1971; T 340 A 6×4 16 October 1972; three-axle tractor 13 December 1974 |
| End | Unic V8 production stopped at the end of 1975; all Unic production abandoned in 1976 |
There is no English article on the Izoard; the page is based on the two French articles on the 270 A2 and 340 A, with company background from English Wikipedia.
History of the Unic Izoard
Unic had been the French subsidiary of Fiat’s commercial-vehicle division since the company was taken over by Simca, which was controlled by the Agnelli family. Until 1970 Fiat did not impose its own engines or components on Unic. By then the bonneted Unic Big-Job cab was more than 25 years old and was being displaced even in France by forward-control cabs, which offered more space, comfort and a field of view of some 300 degrees. The Big-Job nevertheless remained in production until Unic was absorbed by Iveco in 1975.
Izoard 270 A2
The Izoard 270 A2 was the first Unic truck to use the Fiat V.I. type H forward-control cab, with two wide bunks. The M 62 S V8 diesel of 10,766 cc had been developed in 1967. The tractor version, T 270 A2, was approved by the French mines service on 23 April 1970, and the rigid P 270 A2 on 5 April 1971. Unic offered it as a 19-tonne 4×2 rigid or tractor and as a 26-tonne 6×2 rigid with twin rear axles for the French market. The model was also exported under the Fiat brand, since Unic had almost no export network of its own apart from the active Swiss importer, Garage Kurve of Bubendorf.
Izoard 340 A
The 340 A was the second Unic to use the type H cab and the first to receive the new V 85 S engine, a 14,886 cc V8 developing 340 hp SAE, or 307 hp DIN, at 2,400 rpm and 110 mkg of torque at 1,400 rpm. The power was too much for the Unic B181 gearbox, which was already strained by the 270 hp engine, so the truck used the Fiat E90 five-speed-plus-five synchronized gearbox and a Fiat double-reduction rear axle. The 4×2 tractor T 340 A was approved on 25 March 1970, the 4×2 rigid P 340 A on 2 April 1971, the 6×4 tractor on 16 October 1972 and a special three-axle tractor with two steering front axles on 13 December 1974.
With engineers from Fiat’s OM subsidiary, Unic developed the 340 A in a wide range of configurations to meet the expected European weight rules: a lightened 16-tonne 4×2 sold as the Fiat 190 for Germany; a 19-tonne 4×2 for France; 6×2 rigids of 22 to 26 tonnes; a 24-tonne 6×2 with a self-steering third axle; a 26-tonne 6×4 for construction; and a 28-tonne 8×4 with two steering front axles and two driven rear axles, built by Moritz Thommen, son of the Swiss Unic importer, at the Garage Kurve in Bubendorf. Tractors covered 35 tonnes for France and 38 to 40 tonnes for the projected European limits. The European code did not arrive, largely because France insisted on its own 13-tonne axle and 35-tonne limit.
Switzerland was a market of its own: vehicles had to be no wider than 2.30 m to be approved, which meant changes to both chassis and cab. Max Thommen of Garage Kurve represented Unic in the Basel region from 1961 and sold five vehicles in 1962 and between ten and fifteen a year afterwards; in 1964 the garage became the official importer. In 1975 Fiat launched its new 170/190 heavy range with a 17-litre V8, initially rated at 330 hp DIN and raised to 352 hp when Italian law set a minimum of 8 hp per tonne for 44-tonne combinations. The Unic V85 S, which never exceeded 307 hp DIN, was dropped at the end of 1975 and all Unic production ended in 1976.
Design and features
- Fiat type H cab: a comfortable forward-control cab with two bunks and a wide field of view, shared with contemporary Fiat and OM trucks.
- V8 power: the 10.8-litre M 62 S of the 270 A2 and the 14.9-litre V 85 S of the 340 A, the largest engine ever fitted to a Unic.
- Many wheel arrangements: 4×2, 6×2, 6×4 and 8×4 rigids plus tractors, built for French, German and Swiss weight rules.
- Swiss narrow version: chassis and cab modified to the 2.30 m width limit of the Swiss market.
Unic Izoard versions
- Izoard 270 A2: the 1970 range with the 10,766 cc V8, as P 270 A2 rigid and T 270 A2 tractor.
- Izoard 340 A: the 14,886 cc V8 range from 1970, as P 340 A rigid and T 340 A tractor.
- Izoard 340 A 6×4: construction tractor approved in October 1972.
- Izoard 340 A 6×2/2: 40-tonne tractor with two steering front axles, approved in December 1974.
- Izoard 340 A 8×4: 28-tonne rigid assembled in Switzerland by Moritz Thommen.
- Swiss-market Izoard: narrow-chassis and narrow-cab versions for the 2.30 m limit.
The Izoard was the last heavy Unic designed before the Vercors range and the Iveco era; the early use of the name in 1955 is recorded among the Saverne and other named Unic models, and the whole marque is covered in the Unic collection.
Video: Unic T 370 A V8
Video by Qsi1969 on YouTube.
Sources
- Unic Izoard 340 A, French Wikipedia: engine, gearbox, axle, homologation dates, versions, Swiss market
- Unic Izoard 270 A2, French Wikipedia: cab, engine, versions, homologation dates
- Unic, English Wikipedia: company background
