page_title: Saurer
section_title: Saurer F006
hierarchical_section_title: Saurer / Saurer Military Vehicles / Saurer F006
caption_attribution_description: English: Monteverdi 250 Z Prototype
context_page_description: Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were widely used across mainland Europe, particularly in the interwar period.
context_section_description: The Saurer F006 (also known as Saurer 288) and F007 were, apart from the Swiss Army cross-country trucks known as the (6-ton) Saurer 6DM and the (10-ton) Saurer 10DM, the last vehicle designs of the company. In the late 1970s the F006 design from Saurer in Arbon, Switzerland was intended as a successor to the Jeep for the Swiss Army. In addition, it was hoped that the vehicle would also be purchased by fire departments as well as become work vehicles for community structures, such as road maintenance operations, forest rangers, electric and water utilities, etc. Selling to private users (like the Mercedes G) was not addressed, but it would have been likely.  The reason was that Monteverdi, the luxury car manufacturer, had put on display at the Geneva Motor Show 1979 the civilian version of the Saurer F006 Military vehicle which they called the 260Z.  This was the 230th based on the Military design. The 260Z was not produced, however they created three prototypes, which are listed in the Monteverdi Museum in Binningen.  While Monteverdi did not use the Saurer chassis they did produce two versions of a luxury SUV vehicle called the Safari/Sahara based on the International Harvester Scout vehicle lending credence to the idea that had the F006 been in production, a civilian version would have emerged.
  Technology: It is the Saurer F006 turned into an off-road passenger vehicle with four-wheel drive. The concept was adopted by the automaker Monteverdi, improved by Berna engineering company of Olten, Switzerland. Saurer took over the production. The axles are from IHC Scout (Jeep I scout from International Harvester). The vehicle had a plastic body made of polyester. For power the drive-train was a 6-cylinder petrol engine from Volvo with an automatic transmission. Maximum speed was 100 km/h. Overall styling contrasted to the Mercedes G and Puch 230GE joint venture vehicle with the front turn signals mounted conventionally on the front of the vehicle (and not on the hood). The equipment installed in the front bumper parking lights can be turned by flicking the "Tarnlicht" switch (a multipurpose military switch for light dimming). The basic vehicle has a fixed open back cab. The loading / passenger seats are closed with a fast mountable / demountable plastic sheet at the rear including a military holder for a gas canister; a fixed structure is provided for use in case of fire.
  Saurer in 1980 introduced the F006 and in 1982 it was tested by the War Technical Department of the Swiss Army which appreciated the off-road capability. However, the Puch 230GE was procured instead. Failure to secure the army production order meant that production of the vehicle for other potential users was not economically viable. In the end only the 24 prototypes were built, one of which remained in service until 1988, and was subsequently donated to the Saurer oldtimer club; the other remaining vehicles are privately owned.
  Saurer F007: Simultaneously with the Saurer F006 the Saurer F007 was introduced in 1980 as a Pinzgauer High-Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle with similar versions available to the public. The F007 uses the same chassis and the same drive unit as the F006, however, unlike the F006 it does not have the cab behind the engine, but instead the engine compartment is internally located (as with many vans). It is therefore called a cab. Unlike the F006 the F007 has three windshield wiper blades instead of two, four headlights instead of two, and the front parking lights and turn signals are housed in the same headlamp shell. The gasoline tank filler neck is on the left side immediately behind the driver's door, and not as in the F006 on the right side between the rear and the rear wheel. The vehicle has a fixed cab which is open to the rear. The cargo area, passenger space is covered with a plastic sheet, including two plastic windows on each side. Again, this was based on the concept of the cab-over model 260 F by Monteverdi. For Swiss Army procurement, starting from 1982, SUV's in addition to dedicated military vehicles were prepared for tes
caption: Prototype from Monteverdi with the civil version, Saurer manufactured 12 pre serial Military versions of them
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