Every year, American car enthusiasts cheer about the vehicles that have just turned 25 years old, making them legal to bring to America. Often, these imports are Japanese Kei trucks, Nissan Skylines, Euro-spec sport sedans, or some other stereotypical enthusiast car. But sometimes, someone brings in something totally different, and this 1995 Renault Magnum certainly qualifies. If a vintage American cabover semi doesn’t hit the spot, maybe this Euro flavor of the same idea might!
The cabover semi-truck was once the king of the road in America. For most of the 20th century, the trucking industry had to be concerned with strict total length restrictions from each state. This meant that, in order to maximize a load, you had to figure out how to make most of your legal length be cargo. The cabover semi-tractor excelled at this. By stacking the truck’s engine and cab atop the front axle, cabover tractors were able to be shorter than their conventional “long nose” cousins.
This advantage eroded in 1982 when the federal government set national standards on truck dimensions. Now, American truckers could ride in a longer and more comfortable conventional truck, but still make money from their loads. Eventually, cabovers faded away from the Class 8 market. If you see a Class 8 cabover on the highway today, it’s probably run by an owner-operator keeping their retro dreams alive.
The cabover market remains dominant in Europe, where length restrictions, tight urban streets, and trucking culture still favor shorter designs. European truck manufacturers have continued to make big rig cabovers safer while also giving drivers an easier life on the road with carlike interiors. This Renault Magnum is a great example of what that looked like in the 1990s.
Going Large
As the United Kingdom’s Commercial Motor magazine writes, the Renault Magnum wasn’t just a new truck; it was a bit of a revolution.
From Commercial Motor:
It had been a long time coming, as it was back in 1979 that the first drawings of designer Marcello Gandaini filtered out from the HQ of the Lyon-based manufacturer. In fairness, it didn’t create many waves then as virtually every other truck manufacturer did this sort of futuristic pipe-dreaming exercise that rarely turned into a metal creation. The Renault Vision did, however, take the next step and naturally caught the eye in 1985 when the VE 10 concept vehicle did the rounds. The VIRAGES programme led the research into improving aerodynamics but it also allowed forward-thinking brains to include all manner of diverse thoughts into the mix.
Traditionally, goods vehicle manufacturers built their vehicles from the ground up, so the driver’s cab was often the last thing that was considered. In fact, back in the day, some manufacturers didn’t even make cabs and relied on trusted third parties to add these onto the finished chassis and scuttle. In essence, they were just an addition to graft onto the front part of the vehicle around the engine/gearbox. In what was to be called the Renault AE (AErodynamic), the manufacturing process was virtually turned on its head: “Let’s concentrate on making the cab first and then just drop it onto the vehicle chassis and see what it looks like.”
[…]
The Renault AE was officially launched in May 1990. As an entirely new offering, it was built alongside its R and G ranges. It then had two engine options, with the standard being the Renault 12-litre straight-six. Producing 374hp, this was around the sort of mainstream output for continental 40 tonnes gross outfits of the time. However, you could opt to have the mind-blowing 503hp Mack V8. Renault had owned shares in this well-known American-based concern since 1979, and in 1990 took over total ownership of it. Its manual 18-speed gearbox was standard, with the chassis being built in 4- and 6-wheeled guises. What was different to the norm (albeit on show in the 1985 VIRAGES vehicle) was how the first 6-wheeled tractor unit variant was built with a double-drive rear bogie that was fitted with wide single tyres. This was slightly strange, although it should be recalled that Foden did champion that style of 6×4 layout in its UK 38-tonne S106 tractor units of the mid-1980s.
The magazine continued that the cab, which was 12.8 feet tall, had so much headroom (6 feet, 1.6 inches) that you could stand up and walk around, which was something that no other manufacturer offered at the time. That space also had an uninterrupted flat floor, another departure from the norm, as other manufacturers put a hump in their cabs to accommodate the engine underneath. Renault achieved this by separating the engine bay and the cab, which also reduced noise penetration. The cab rides on its own air suspension.
Those weren’t the only parts of the cab that blew the minds of European truckers in 1990. The Magnum was technologically advanced, featuring 33 warning lights in the standard version. The cab was also aerodynamically optimized, despite its monolithic appearance.
Technically, the first Magnums weren’t called Magnums. Instead, the trucks were called “AE” with a number afterwards. “Magnum” was reserved for the premium trim level. However, Euro truckers called every AE a Magnum, anyway. By 1997, Renault changed the model’s name to Magnum to match.
Reportedly, the Magnum was a lot like the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet in that either you loved it or hated it. Some truckers adored the huge cab, the comfort, and the high seating position. Others hated how the truck had hidden door handles, a ladder that didn’t line up with the doors, and a heavy empty weight.
If you’re an American, the Magnum might even seem familiar to you through Top Gear‘s old shenanigans. If you missed the Lorry Challenge from back in the day, have fun with this video:
Renault updated the Magnum over the years, increasing headroom to over 6 feet, 6 inches, and even taking a Magnum on a Route 66 road trip.
In 2013, Renault was ready to move on. The last Magnum was built, and Renault’s new rig was the Renault Trucks T. When all was said and done, 129,330 Magnums were sold, and many remain on the road today. One of those trucks managed to make it to America from Poland.
This Magnum
This 1995 Renault AE 520 Magnum is an example of an earlier truck, and it’s an absolute beast.
The highlight of this rig is what’s under that floating cab. Power comes from a Mack Trucks E9, a monstrous 16.35-liter V8 diesel. This example, the seller, David, says, made 530 horsepower before he did an in-frame rebuild, which included a rebuilt Bosch pump and upgraded injectors. Allegedly, the truck gallops with over 600 ponies now. Honestly, the original power figures would put this old Magnum about in line with the kind of juice pumped out by an American semi-tractor today.
David says that the extra power is backed by an upgraded clutch, a rebuilt radiator, new front disc brakes, and new bearings. Putting the power down is a 16-speed transmission. It’s said that the rear frame and tires need work, but the listing doesn’t say what that means. David does say that the truck runs and drives well.
The cab interior is noteworthy because of how weird it is.
If you flip through the images, you’ll see two speedometers. The second speedometer, which is the huge disc to the left of the cab, is something called a tachograph. This device tracks everything the trucker does, from the speed they drive to the time they’ve been driving. The information gets printed onto a wax-coated paper disc for data collection.
Otherwise, the cab is fantastically retro, with bits hidden under flip-up covers and a big, two-spoke steering wheel. It’s impressive how large the windshield is, too.
David, who is based in West Union, Iowa, wants $19,500 for the rig. I have found a few Renault Magnum 520s for sale, but all of them are too new to import to America. There are lots of Magnums with lower output ratings for sale, and given tariffs and exchange rates, a good one of those would probably cost you more to get to America than just buying this one.
So, the price seems fair enough. The next question is what you’d even do with a truck like this? David told me that this is how he used it:
I imported the Magnum from Poland. [It] arrived here January of 2023 at the Texas port. [It] had been a nightmare the 1st day I got it but after years of repair I got it running/driving. [T]hen I ran out of funds and it sat for over a year. Unfortunately I have decided to sell it. I was going to use it for my personal trucking company but with the dropping rates during the last few years decided it wasn’t feasible anymore.
Unfortunately, David’s story is one of many in recent times. But maybe someone else can continue this rig’s story!
Honestly, I’d just drive it around like a Corvette. Just take it on a Sunday cruise to the beach or something. That’s what I used to do with my bus! However, as I learned with my transit bus, keeping a semi-tractor alive is not for someone who doesn’t know how to fix commercial vehicles, so maybe the best buyer is a farmer, a quirky owner-operator, or one of those folks who tow their fifth wheel campers with a big rig.
Either way, I just love seeing this thing in America. I’m used to seeing so many Kei cars, Mitsubishi Delicas, Euro BMWs, and so on that I’m so excited to see that someone brought over the weirdest possible import. I’m glad I don’t have 20 large to burn on a vehicle purchase right now, or else I’d be on my way to Iowa.
Top graphic images: Facebook listing; DepositPhotos.com; CBS
Not the Cherrier Percheron!
One thing I’m jealous of as a Canadian is that the US 25 year rule has seemingly no restrictions on what you can bring in. Up here, there are somewhat severe restrictions on buses built from 1971 onward, likely due to the fact that our domestic automotive industry and automakers (regardless of who actually owns them) mostly produce buses, as a protectionist move.
Basically, the only way to bring in a bus that isn’t on the government’s approved list is if it was professionally converted to a different vehicle type (e.g. RV) by a registered and approved firm, and legally considered as such.
I can’t believe the US, out of all places, will allow you to freely import all kinds of JDM minibuses, double deckers from Hong Kong and the UK, and European coaches in original passenger-carrying configuration, considering how it’s so infamous for restrictive vehicle import laws that are also protectionist in origin (albeit from foreign automakers and their dealers, not domestic ones).
That is probably worthy of its own article!