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Renault Magnum

The Renualt after the obstacle speed challenge at Truckfest.

The Renault Magnum was the lorry that Jeremy Clarkson drove during the lorry driving challenge (Series 12 Episode 1).

Jeremy had bought the Magnum for under £5000 and had reasoned to buy it by saying that it was easy to fit the carpet; as the 12 Litre engine was directly underneath the cab. The magnum was also the tallest truck in the trio's fleet. The Renault had to haul an electric fire facing straw, that later caught fire to the ex Royal Mail trailer. The lorries first encounter with damage was when James May cut Clarkson up and hit the truck with his trailer during the race.

The Magnum, despite it's size reached 80mph, not quite beating Hammond's ERF EC11. Jeremy on the final challenge had drove the Magnum through a solid brick wall. The magnum had sustained extreme damage, and so did Jeremy 'Sort of'.

Overview:

The Renault Magnum that Jeremy had chosen was a circa 1992 Renault "AE" 380 Magnum. At the time, Magnum was an interior trim package. It wasn't until 1997 redesign that Renault started calling the AE line "Magnum". The "AE" (standing for AErodynamic) introduced in 1990 featured two engine options:

  • The AE380 w/ 374HP 13L Inline 6 AB Volvo Turbo Diesel
  • The AE500 with a 503 HP V8 Mack Diesel

Later in 1997, new 13L AB Volvo Inline 6 Turbodiesel engines were made available for the Magnum 440, 480, and 520 with matching power levels.

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