RoadStars Legends
Mercedes-Benz LP 608
Some vehicles seem not to age – they become legends. In this series we focus on vehicles that excite and tell the stories behind the sheet metal, the engine and the myth.
This time we present a vehicle that is of particular importance to the Woerth plant: it is the Mercedes-Benz LP 608 with a short, cubic driver's cab. An identical model rolled off the production line at the Woerth plant on July 14, 1965 as the very first truck.
Right from the start, the LP 608 won the hearts of customers, as it complemented the lower end of the Mercedes-Benz truck product range. With a permissible gross vehicle weight of 6.5 tonnes, it could easily be driven with a car driving licence.
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Another innovation, alongside the generously glazed forward-control cab, was the OM 314 engine. This made it the first Mercedes-Benz truck to be equipped with a four-cylinder direct-injection engine.
The LP 608 produced 80 hp at 2,800 rpm and developed a torque of 226 Nm. The top speed was between 80 and 95 km/h. Until the market launch of its larger sibling, the LP 808, it was the only model in this series.
The fact that the right decision had been made with the launch of the LP 608 became apparent during the first two years. With more than 10,000 vehicles produced, it reached a proud market share of 45 percent.
Do you also have a special vehicle – whether an old-timer or a modern model – that you'd like to share with the RoadStars community? Then send us an email and tell us more about it: roadstars@mercedes-benz-trucks.com
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