Award-winning retro SK truck keeps on going

CLASSIC TRUCKS

Andrew Cooper’s classic red SK is over 20 years old and still feels brand new.

Family business owner Andrew runs a car body repair shop in South Wales. He also drives a beautifully-restored retro V8 1853 SK in his spare time, which has scooped plenty of awards and kudos at events and shows.


Impeccable condition.

The iconic Mercedes-Benz SK series (‘Schwere Klasse’ meaning heavy class) were produced from 1989 – 1998 and were the evolution of the NG (Neue Generation) series, with additional driver comforts and electronic features.

Andrew’s vehicle was built in 1996 and owned by an Italian operator which manufactured concrete pumping equipment. The company used the truck to demonstrate the equipment, but it was actually rarely used, meaning it has remained in impeccable condition.

Andrew acquired it from a used truck Dealer based in Munich in January, 2015. The Dealer was disappointed to part with it but felt they had to, due to the expensive emissions tax on Euro II engines in Germany.


“It drives today as if it was built yesterday, as all Mercedes did of that era.”

- Andrew Cooper


A retro truck with modern features.

At the time of Andrew’s purchase, the vehicle had only driven 600,000 km over 19 years. The factory-built Mercedes-Benz truck was spec’d by the original Italian owners, with a manual gearbox as opposed to EPS (electronic powershift).

The SK was also originally equipped with all the modern features available at the time, including air conditioning, Voith retarder and cruise control.

Andrew is thrilled with the condition of his truck, “It drives today as if it was built yesterday, as all Mercedes did of that era, in my opinion.”



Bold livery.

Once home from Germany, Andrew began work on restoring the vehicle, including a sleek paint job of red, black and gold. The eye-catching livery was a nod to a previous truck he possessed, an American bonneted Peterbilt truck which was imported from West Virginia in 2008.  


Lifelong Mercedes-Benz fan.

Andrew has always been a fan of Mercedes-Benz SK and NG vehicles; before joining the family business he drove for a local steel haulier who ran a fleet of approximately 70 of these trucks. He explains, “They all did a phenomenal amount of work with very little maintenance and downtime. They were then exported to other countries, where after having done up to 4 million kilometres in the UK, they worked even harder.”

He was so impressed he decided it was time to find one for himself, “I wanted one to promote the business and use it to go to truck shows and road runs etc.”


Award-winning truck.

The SK model attends between 12-14 events a year across the UK, France, Belgium and Germany and has scooped up over a dozen awards and trophies since being in Andrew’s hands. It’s also been used at weddings, proms and funerals.

“A lot of people remember them. They were iconic trucks and very well-respected years ago in the UK transport industry, for doing a tremendous amount of work with very little maintenance needed. So I get a very warm reception wherever I go with it really.”

In the future Andrew hopes to try new projects and will eventually sell the SK, “I’ll have had it five years in January so it’ll be up for sale very soon. And then on to the next one!”


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