[imagebrowser id=184]
Mack has announced a “hardened,” yet still lightweight version of its mDrive automated manual transmission designed specifically for the rigors and varied terrains of construction work.
During a press event at the World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas Tuesday, Mack took the wraps off the mDrive HD.
Stephen Roy, Mack’s president of North American sales and marketing, said the company’s construction customers had requested a heavy-duty version of the mDrive which went standard on Mack’s Pinnacle highway model last year.
The mDrive HD will be available for order in March. The transmission will also become standard on Granite models in March.
“We believe the best product should be standard,” Roy said. “We see the mDrive HD being a game changer in vocational.”
Mack says it took the original mDrive and reinforced internal components such as the gears and synchros in order to withstand more frequent shifting. Despite the “Heavy Duty” suffix on this new mDrive, Mack says the transmission is lightweight, weighing in 237 pounds lighter than the Allison 4500 RDS and 191 pounds lighter than the Eaton UltraShift Plus.
