A MAN show-off at Templeman
MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd. celebrates the sale of the 150,000th vehicle in Great Britain with a spectacular and rather unique customer truck. The truck – a special build of the MAN TGX Individual Lion S – is operated by family-owned Templeman Retailing & Vending Ltd based in Gateshead.
The 150,000th vehicle sold by MAN in Great Britain needed to make its mark – something that MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd. and its customer, Neil Templeman, Managing Director of Templeman Retailing & Vending Ltd., agreed on: “This is a truly incredible milestone for MAN and we are delighted to be part of this journey. After our initial meeting, we thought about what we could achieve with MAN Truck & Bus to create a truck that would be an outstanding spectacle, something that would catch the eye of other road users, stand out at truck fairs and represent our company, and that would be a guaranteed conversation starter.” Sadly, Neil Templeman, who unfortunately passed away before the vehicle could be finished, was not able to witness the incredible MAN delivered to the company. But we hope that the MAN Lion would have surpassed his expectations.
The Templeman Retailing & Vending MAN truck takes its starting point from the flagship model, MAN TGX Individual Lion S, has the largest cab in the series, the GX, and is painted Nardo Grey ex works. In addition, the truck is adorned with a special, one-off livery that boasts an airbrushed lion on each side of the cab. The lion on the kerb side is gentle and pensive, looking off into the distance, while the lion on the cab side is more aggressive – ready to leap with snarling teeth. At first glance, the airbrushed claws on the front corner caps on the cab make the vehicle look like it has been damaged in an attack. The rear of the cab is not forgotten and is emblazoned with a giant lion’s head.
A shining beacon!
The objective for the vehicle body was that it should gleam both day and night. Lights have been installed on the polished stainless steel bumper, in the front bar, above the cab, on the side strips and on the rear of the roof spoiler. Lights have also been milled into the chassis in-fill. Another light bar and a double-stacked rear light cluster sit above the one-off mud flap, which bears the Templeman logo sandwiched between two Union Jacks.
It goes without saying that the design highlights flow into the interior of this designer MAN: Handmade floor mats bearing a 150,000th design logo, a special brushed stainless steel 150,000th plaque, premium leather and Alcantara seats with red diamond stitching, red seat belts, a luxury bunk with slatted support and adjustable headrest, a TV couch, a 22-inch television with remote control, a wall unit with microwave and coffee machine, a coolbox, an electric roller blind are just some of the interior features.
Matt Squires, Director of New Truck/Bus & Coach Sales, MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd, commented: “We were all delighted when our ordering system displayed a green flag next to Neil’s truck, indicating that it was the 150,000th MAN vehicle sold in the Great Britain. Our flagship, the MAN TGX Individual Lion S, proved to be a fantastic starting point, but we wanted to achieve more together. We agreed that we wanted to build a vehicle that could take on the best of the best in the Truck Show Arena and something that would attract attention both on the road and when parked up. In short: an outstanding vehicle that stimulates the imagination of the transport and driver community.”
“This new vehicle will take pride of place in our fleet, and I’m sure our driver James Wilson will love it,”
ads Kevin Templeman, Managing Director at Templeman, about the show-worthy addition to its fleet.