Iveco is one of the few makers worldwide to offer a full range of all-wheel-drive vehicles. With Massif, the new 4x4, the Italian company breaks into a completely new professional transport segment, harking back to the memory of a glorious ancestor that won Fiat Group a prominent place in the history of off-road vehicles: the Fiat Campagnola.
The Massif signals Iveco's first entry into the light off-road vehicle segment, and with two body styles. The spirit of the Massif follows in the tyre tracks of the Fiat Campagnola, the Italian Army standard-issue jeep designed in 1951 that became an icon in Italy in an age when the country still lacked a modern road infrastructure. The Campagnola was an important symbol for postwar Italy and the reconstruction of the 1950s, still fresh in the Italian collective memory. But the Campagnola meant even more than this: in the white livery of the Popemobile, it is inseparably associated with the appearances of John Paul II, a Pope who ushered in a new way of reaching out to the faithful. Still in white, but now bearing the UN insignia, the vehicle contributed to a large number of international peacekeeping missions in every continent of the world. From its ancestor, the Massif has taken the robust versatility and workmanlike appearance of a vehicle designed for demanding tasks, but without losing sight of operating economy.
A Serious Off Road Working Vehicle
The new Iveco Massif is a rugged 4 wheel drive vehicle for serious off-road applications. The vehicle is based on the structure that was used for the first sports off-road vehicles, before they were “urbanised” into sport utility vehicles, mainly for on-road use. It signals a return to the roots of 4x4 utility vehicles, removing the off-road/on-road compromise: this is, in short, a serious, professional, off-road workhorse and it intends to be seen as such. But seen with style, courtesy of Giugiaro.
Massif is a genuine, go-anywhere off-road vehicle with high performance and able to tackle extreme off-road terrain with ease. It boasts a fully-laden gradeability of 100%, an approach angle of 50°, a departure angle of 30° and a ramp angle of 24°. Its fording capability in standard trim is 500 mm and its under-axle ground clearance is 200 mm with standard wheels and tyres. The four-wheel-drive can be disengaged to provide rear wheel drive for optimised on-road fuel economy.
Massif is available in a long wheelbase (2768 mm) version as a 5-door station wagon, pick-up truck and chassis cab, and in a short wheelbase (2452 mm) version as a 3-door station wagon. All versions are available in both right and left hand drive.
Massif is available in a wide range of variants and configurations, offering maximum productivity in every type of mission: 2 engines and 4 versions, with product configurations that can be changed according to the market and the customer. And naturally, to all this is added the maximum versatility in the pick-up and chassis cab configurations for specific transport missions.
Iveco – a full range of all-wheel-drive vehicles
Iveco Massif 4x4 competes in a small but very important niche market of 4x4 work vehicles. Massif is produced jointly with Spanish maker Santana: their original vehicle was completely revised by Iveco experts with support on a massive scale in terms of technologies and solutions derived from the Daily. Massif is actually the true heir to the Daily 4x4 floor plan, well-known for its performance in military and civilian situations in the form of the VM 90, used by the armed forces and civil defence corps of many countries. Massif shares its engageable all-wheel-drive architecture, with the transfer box flanged to the gearbox to lower the vehicle’s profile as far as possible, making it perfectly adapted for long, rapid on-road transfers and demanding off-road missions at the destination. The end result of this extensive re-engineering is a vehicle that’s ready to take on missions that would need an “off-road lorry”. Iveco’s expertise in the 4x4 market spreads right across the commercial vehicle range, from light to heavy – Daily, Eurocargo and Trakker – covering every type of mission and all working conditions. These all wheel drive vehicles are exceedingly rugged, and are ideal for taking personnel and equipment where they are most needed, often in emergency conditions. And the reliability of these vehicles is second to none, whether they are operating under extreme or normal conditions. Even driver comfort is not compromised by the stresses and strains deriving from off-road driving – not always the fun pastime it would seem.
Outstanding power train combination
Massif uses two highly successful FPT engines: the 3.0 HPI rated at 146Cv and 350Nm of torque and the 176CV HPT with 400 Nm of torque, coupled to the ZF 6S400 6-speed transmission. This outstanding power train combination is taken from the Daily product range and is well proven on all counts of reliability, performance and low fuel consumption. Coupled to the power train is the transfer box and, via the transmission shafts, also the front and rear drive axles. The transfer box provides a high-range drive ratio, approximately 1:1, and selection of all wheel drive. The low-range ratio provides all-wheel-drive only. An optionally available freewheel front hub control is available to prevent transmission wind-up when 4-wheel-drive is used on firm ground conditions. The parking brake is mounted on the rear axle output flange of the transfer box, resulting in a more powerful braking torque as it is multiplied by the drive axle ratio. This is an extremely important feature since it means that Massif can be held on the parking brake on all of the incredible gradients it is able to climb.
Maximum cab comfort
The cab interior is perfectly designed to give maximum comfort to the driver and passengers, even in the turbulent off-road driving conditions for which the Massif range is designed. Seat upholstery is in fabric or leather, but for heavy-duty missions a robust synthetic material is available. The rubber floor mats in the cab are easy to clean. The in-cab instrumentation meets the requirements of a serious off-road machine. The gear shift and transfer box controls are floor-mounted and within easy reach of the driver. Air conditioning is optionally available to further improve driver and passenger comfort.
Like the latest Trakker and Daily models, the Iveco Massif is designed to demonstrate Iveco’s fundamental values towards excellence: Commitment, Reliability, Performance, Team Spirit and Power. Values that Massif shares with the New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks, who in their history have won more titles than any other team. To confirm this sharing of values, for its launch the Massif is being presented in black livery and tattoos to evoke the unmistakable spirit of the All Blacks.
