Renault Trucks was participating in the 2019 European Heritage Days showing the biggest truck in the world, the pride of French industry: the Berliet T100. Visitors saw one of only four models of this legendary truck manufactured in 1957.
The Berliet T100 nicknamed the Desert Giant came home for the first time for the 2019 European Heritage Days to the delight of automobile fanatics. The T100 No.2 is a massive 50-tonne vehicle standing over 5 metres high. It was shown at the former Berliet site – now home to Renault Trucks – in Lyon Saint Priest.
The T100 No.2 rolled off the assembly lines of Berliet’s Lyon-Monplaisir factory in 1958. It was destined for oil companies operating in southern Algeria. Its ability to plough tirelessly through the sand dunes meant that it played a role in putting out a huge fire at the oil well in Gassi-Touil in 1961-62 by keeping the fire brigade supplied with thousands of tonnes of baryte. Since 1981, this symbol of French industrial heritage has been in the hands of the Fondation Berliet which was set up to conserve and showcase the brand’s heritage vehicles.
