75 years of Pegaso trucks (part I)

Before telling you about the history of this brand, we stop for a moment in a tribute that Iveco pays to Pegaso for its anniversary.

In 1990 Iveco, as we will tell you, absorbed ENASA, a company that until then manufactured Pegaso vehicles. 31 years later, on the 75th anniversary, the brand has released a special edition of its AS cab, the IVECO S-WAY model, with the iconic fast Pegasus horse.

This model has a customization kit that includes plates with the commemorative logo of the anniversary, on the exterior and on the dashboard, vinyls on the bodywork, embroidered seatbelts and commemorative products.

In this video you can see the kit along with some historical images of Pegaso:

In 1946 the Center for Automotive Technical Studies (C.E.T.A.) was created with the function of setting the guidelines to be followed by the automotive industry, through design and experimentation.

One of his first tasks was to develop a master plan for the sector, reaching the conclusion that a large national company for the production of trucks should be created.

This led to the creation of Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones, SA (ENASA), which absorbed the only Spanish company with experience in the sector that survived the Civil War, Hispano-Suiza.

SEAT also emerged from this master plan.

That same year, Enasa launched its first truck, the Pegaso I. This really did not represent any innovation. It was exactly the same one that Hispano-Suiza already manufactured under the name of Hispano-Suiza 66G.

This curious truck was better known by its nickname, Cheeks, for its characteristic shape that resembled bulging cheeks.

After the Pegaso I came the Pegaso II, with 8 gears instead of 6, more reinforced, more comfortable and with more load capacity.

In 1949 the diesel version of the Pegaso II was launched, taking another big step in innovation and efficiency. It achieved lower consumption, thanks to the incorporation of a Bosch direct injection pump. It had a load capacity of 26,500 kilos and was capable of climbing slopes of up to 14%, with its 125 CV, which later became 140.

From this truck model, in 1951, the first Pegaso tractor was born, the Z-701

Two peculiarities about these models:

• For years the forward cabins were called “Pegasus type” for these models.

• At that time the trucks could not overtake. For that reason, the steering wheel was located on the right, to make it easier for the driver to see the gutter.

In 1952, fuel rationing and the economic impact of buying oil outside the country, penalizing the balance of payments of a Spain isolated from abroad after the Civil War, led CETA to study alternatives, launching the prototype of its first electric truck, the Pegaso Z-601.

It was never produced, but it was used for the development of trolleybuses later.

From 1951 to 1957 Pegaso also produced some of the most advanced and fastest cars of the time, the Z-102 and Z-103. These modern cars were known as the Spanish Ferraris and only 86 units were made in total. Now they are precious collector's items, but in their time they helped a great deal to improve the knowledge and training of personnel that was later applied to industrial vehicles.

Both models were very powerful sports cars, with 8-cylinder V-engines and versions ranging from 160 to 360 hp.

In addition, during the first years, Pegaso followed the production of Hispano-Suiza aircraft engines.

Until 1955 everything was produced in Barcelona, in the old Hispano-Suiza factory, but that year the brand inaugurated the first phase of its new factory in Madrid. It took 8 long years to finish it due to the scarcity of resources such as cement or post-war steel and the difficulties in importing machinery from abroad.

Currently the plant is still in operation, manufacturing the current Iveco and is considered one of the most advanced in the world.

Until 1990, 405,000 units were produced. In 2008, under the Iveco Pegaso brand, the figure of one million units produced was reached.

The plant immediately began production of a new model, the Z-207 Barajas, which took its name from the location of the new production plant.

The Barajas was the first model that was not derived from a Hispano-Suiza model, being designed from scratch by Pegaso.

Its main innovation was its new V6 engine which was smaller, more modern and more efficient than the previous ones. In addition, it was a great improvement in ride comfort thanks to its new suspension.

All this was achieved with great innovations that until then were unknown in the manufacture of diesel engines:

• It incorporated for the first time the typical corrugated sheet metal cabin

• aluminum was introduced in its manufacture

• had direct injection to the engine

• had a counter-rotating axis under the crankshaft, which made its operation smoother

• had two interchangeable heads, one for each cylinder bed

• Its damping was very advanced, with independent front suspension with overlapping double wishbones, coil springs and shock absorbers.

Its maximum authorized weight was 11 tons and it reached 90 km/h. More than 4,400 units of the Z-207 Barajas were produced.

Sources: Autofacil.es and Diariodetransporte.com