Trucking milestones: 1982 – Endurance test for the Unimog U 1700 L

There was no such convenient helper available back in 1982 when Georges Groine took part in the “Paris-Dakar”, as it was then called, with his Unimog U 1700 L. The French Mercedes‑Benz truck dealer Bernard Malfériol and his team had resolved to conquer the desert route known as the “infernal trail” with him. “The Unimog just seemed to float over all the bumps. The distance to the other competitors steadily increased,” reported “Transport” magazine back then.

But after half of the route, the worst was still to come: the tracks in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) defeated more than half of the remaining competitors; but not the men with the Unimog U 1700 L. Undeterred, they carried on towards their goal. After 10,000 kilometres and 20 days, only 3 trucks reached the finish, two of which were Unimog – with the U 1700 L in the lead.