Ashok Leyland Taurus & Hippo: The return of the Heavy-duty Trucking Titans
Ashok Leyland has resurrected the legendary ‘Taurus’ and ‘Hippo’ heavy-duty truck nameplates, with the truck ranges re-engineered with latest technologies and aggregates to take on the market.
Ask any truck driver or fleet operators of the previous decades. The truck nameplates ‘Taurus‘ and ‘Hippo‘ are not just product names, but will be identified as legends that are synonyms with the history of culture of heavy-duty trucking in India. The truck brands that got popular in 1980s ruled the highways right until mid-2000s.
While the Hippo was an ‘OG’ heavy hauler of its times, the Taurus was perhaps India’s first multi-axle truck that defined new benchmarks in the India. To the extent that even today, multi-axle trucks are colloquially called as ‘Taurus’ by drivers and transporters! This underlines the impact that these nameplates had on the trucking culture in the country.
Related: Ashok Leyland Comet: ‘Heavenly Comet’ of Indian truck history
Today, Ashok Leyland is building on the legacy of these nameplates with a new, modern and reliable range of purpose-built heavy-duty trucks. Based on the brand’s AVTR modular truck platform, the new Taurus is a high-power tipper range, while the Hippo nameplate will anchor the flagship tractor portfolio. Both the truck range will come in multiple configurations and feature options to meet the emerging requirements of the operators in various applications.
The new trucks will share Ashok Leyland’s flagship 8-litre ‘A-Series’ six-cylinder diesel engine generating a maximum output of 360 hp power and 1,600 Nm of peak torque. The engine is paired to a 9-speed 15409 synchromesh manual gearbox. Heavy-duty aggregates also includes a reinforced chassis, heavy-duty propeller shaft and hub reduction rear axles, rear bogie suspension with anti-roll bar, and enhanced oil service intervals.
In addition, the new Taurus and Hippo will feature modern tiltable day- and sleeper cabins respectively, along with ergonomically-designed interiors. Both the truck range comes standard with Hill Start Assist and Automatic Traction Control, along with optional TPMS, reverse camera and driver assistance systems (ADAS).
While the Taurus range targets the construction segments, the Hippo is best suited for bulk trailer haulage and over-dimensional cargo transport. The trucks are engineered for improved productivity, fuel efficiency and better life-cycle economics for the operators. Both the truck ranges are now open for customer booking across Ashok Leyland’s dealerships in the country.
