The Iveco Massif is a utility 4×4 vehicle mainly aimed at the utility services and military markets and was part of Iveco’s 4×4 and off-road range, which also includes the Trakker

lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

and

Daily Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

4×4 van. Massif was produced by

Santana Motor Santana Motor, S.A. (; ) was a Spanish motor vehicle manufacturer based in Linares, in the province of Jaén, Spain. It was originally created in 1956 as "Metalúrgica de Santa Ana, S.A." to manufacture agricultural machinery, but soon, in 1961 ...

from 2007 to 2011 and its rebadged and restyled version of the Santana PS-10. In 2010, due to poor sales and Fiat Group's ability to serve the European 4×4 market with imported

Jeeps Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

, such as the

Jeep Wrangler The Jeep Wrangler is a series of compact and mid-size four-wheel drive off-road SUVs manufactured by Jeep since 1986 and is currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was revealed in late 2017 and is produ ...

vehicles, that were made to replace the Santana in the market, Iveco decided to stop the agreement with Santana. In 2011 the owner of Santana, the Government of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, decided to close down the company and its car factory and 1,341 people were laid off or retired prematurely. From 6,692 cars made in 2007, the company manufactured 1,197 in 2009 and no more than 769 in 2010.

Overview

The Massif was produced in , Spain by

and was marketed by Iveco (the commercial section of the

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

motor company) and competed with the

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (initially introduced as the Land Rover 110 / One Ten, and in 1984 joined by the Land Rover 90 / Ninety, plus the new, extra-length Land Rover 127 in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pick-up truck, pickup ...

at the utility end of the 4×4 market. The Massif is essentially a revamped and restyled version of the Santana PS-10, which (like the Defender) is itself a derivative of the

Land Rover series The Land Rover series I, II, and III (commonly referred to as ''series'' Land Rovers, to distinguish them from later models) are compact British off-road vehicles, produced by the Rover Company since 1948, and later by British Leyland. Though ...

which Santana formerly built under licence. The Massif was part of a joint venture between Iveco and Santana; Iveco announced in Madrid in May 2006 that it was essentially taking over the PS-10 product. Iveco already supplied the engine and drive-train to Santana for its PS-10 model, so this seemed a logical progression. The Massif was produced alongside the Santana PS-10.

Specification

The Massif was styled by and the Iveco Style Centre. The Massif bears a clear family resemblance to its sister product, the Santana PS-10, which itself was heavily based on the Land Rover Series. Beyond the modernized front clip, the family resemblance to the

is strong. The Massif was available with two versions of Iveco’s 3.0 litre

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

taken from the Iveco Daily van. A HPI version with of

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

and a HPT version with of torque were available. The extra horsepower of the HPT version comes from a variable geometry

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

. Both engines met Euro IV emissions standards. The Massif is fitted with a 6-speed ZF 6S400 overdrive

manual gearbox A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear change ...

with high and low range ratios. No automatic was available. The Massif also has selectable four-wheel drive, like its forebears in the Land Rover series (but unlike the Land Rover Defender, which has permanent four-wheel drive). This was intended to reduce fuel consumption, claimed as “up to 10%” by Iveco. The decision to have selectable four-wheel drive is believed to be because Iveco suggested permanent four-wheel drive is unnecessary for the majority of driving conditions. The Massif is usually in four-by-two,

rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...

unless four-wheel drive is engaged. The Massif is also fitted with manual-locking free-wheeling hubs on the front axles which prevent the rotation of front axle components, supposedly to reduce wear. An optional

limited-slip rear differential A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential (mechanical device), differential that allows its two output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum difference between the two shafts. Limited-slip differentials ...

was also available to improve off-road ability by reducing the chance of getting cross-axled. The Massif has all round

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...

s with ventilated discs on the front axle and simple discs on the rear axle. The

hand brake In road vehicles, the parking brake, also known as a handbrake or emergency brake (e-brake), is a mechanism used to keep the vehicle securely motionless when parked. Parking brakes often consist of a cable connected to two wheel brakes, which i ...

is also a disc brake, operating on the transmission. The Massif is fitted with parabolic suspension all round, as opposed to the coil springs of its contemporary, the Land Rover Defender. The parabolic suspension system is arranged with double bladed springs on the front axle and four bladed springs on the rear axle. The Massif is fitted with hydraulic dampers on the front axle, gas dampers on the rear axle and

anti-roll bars An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) whee ...

at both front and rear to give a compromise of on-road handling and off-road ability. The parabolic suspension system can be regarded as a cost-effective compromise between the simplicity and load carrying ability of leaf springs and the better comfort and axle articulation (and thus off-road ability) of

coil spring A selection of conical coil springs The most common type of spring is the coil spring, which is made out of a long piece of metal that is wound around itself. Coil springs were in use in Roman times, evidence of this can be found in bronze Fib ...

s. The Massif is built as a

body-on-frame Body-on-frame, also known as ladder frame construction, is a common motor vehicle construction method, whereby a separate body or coach is mounted on a strong and relatively rigid vehicle frame or chassis that carries the powertrain (the engin ...

construction with a ladder chassis, rather than a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

construction which is now common with most modern 4×4s. The chassis is based on the chassis used for the Iveco Daily van range. This layout is another similarity with Land Rover’s Defender. The rear door of the Massif was designed to have a full metre-wide opening to allow a standard

Euro-pallet The EUR-pallet, also known as Euro-pallet or EPAL-pallet, is the standard European pallet as specified by the UIC pallet working group and the UIC 435-2 leaflet. Pallets conforming to the standardization are eligible for the European Pallet Poo ...

to be comfortably carried in the rear of the vehicle – intended as a unique selling point of the vehicle because of its anticipated market of the utility/commercial sector. The Massif can also be specified with a variety of transmission or transfer box

power take-off A power take-off or power takeoff (PTO) is one of several methods for taking power from a power source, such as a running engine, and transmitting it to an application such as an attached implement or separate machine. Most commonly, it is a sp ...

units and electrical connections on the body work to increase its attraction to commercial users further. The interior of the Massif had been overhauled from the Santana PS-10 version to make it more competitive with the recently updated Land Rover Defender.

Models

The Massif was available in long () and short

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

() variants. A

hardtop A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), Convertible#Detachable hardtop, detachable for separate storing or retractable ha ...

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

, pickup and

chassis cab A chassis cab, also called a cab chassis or half truck, is a type of vehicle construction, often found in medium duty truck commercial vehicles. Instead of supplying the customer with a factory pre-assembled flatbed, cargo container, or other eq ...

were available. The long wheelbase station wagon seats up to 7 people. A "heavy duty" version of the Massif with a 3.5 tonne GVW and towing capacity was also in development for commercial users. The Massif was also aimed at the service sector and the Iveco website showed computer generated models of the Massif with custom bodywork to allow the Massif to be used as emergency service vehicles such as ambulances and fire-fighting vehicles for off-road use; traditionally a sector that the Land Rover Defender, with its specially dedicated Land Rover Special Vehicles division, has dominated. Launch models had been heavily promoted with advertising showing the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

squad as Iveco had signed up as the main sponsor of the team. Launch vehicles were displayed with black body work and the "tribal" graphics associated with the team. Iveco also announced that a military specification of the Massif would have been available, being fully air-portable similarly to its sister vehicle, the Santana PS-10. Although the PS-10 was available in left- and right-hand drive models, the Massif was available only in left-hand drive and only in mainland Europe. Iveco had initially intended the Massif to be launched in the UK in early 2009.

Campagnola

Hearkening back to the

Fiat Campagnola The Fiat Campagnola is a heavy-duty off-road vehicle produced by Fiat. Production started in 1951 and it was upgraded in 1974. It was inspired by the Willys Jeep. Fiat 1101 "Campagnola" (1951-73) Civilian models Fiat 1107 "Nuova Campagnola" ...

, Iveco launched a luxurious version of the three-door model sold as the Iveco Campagnola in 2008, with deliveries beginning in 2009. This model received standard

anti-lock braking An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintainin ...

, power locks, air conditioning, a body-coloured roof, and a rear wiper, amongst other extras. An original "Opening Edition" of 499 cars was planned.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20080913051821/http://www.massif.iveco.com/?lang=en *http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2008/04/04/109983/video-and-pictures-santana-off-roader-becomes-the-iveco-massif.html *http://www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=17266 *http://www.commercialmotor.com/latest-news/first-drive-iveco-massif {{Iveco Off-road vehicles

Massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

Vehicles introduced in 2007 Cars of Spain