1980-93 SANJU MDM44 “WOLVERINE”
So, is this an IP? Rather, the opposite. Sanju heavy industries is the parent company of IP, and among the things they make, are trucks and other heavy vehicles, which unlike the passenger cars are named after the parent company, both for civilian and military use.
The MDM44 “Wolverine”, introduced in 1980 and built until 1993, was one of the models seeing pure military use. With the cab being used for years by various Sanju medium duty trucks, it had a kind of aging exterior already as new, which hardly bothered the audience. What was more interesting, though, was the 4.8 litre V8 that powered it. Literally a doubled 2.4 litre IP “4Z” engine, it shared many parts with that one. It also was built to be very fail proof. For example, it had dual ignition systems, something that was made possible by the dual spark plug design already utilized by the 4Z. Also, each one of the carbs more or less had its own fuel system all the way from the dual fuel tanks. In case of failure of one of the components, it would still run, albeit not optimal.
The chassis was of course more heavy duty stuff than featured on the civilian trucks, fact is that it was a completely fresh design despite the dated exterior. Four wheel drive was of course standard equipment, combined with an enormous ground clearance, locking differentials and aggressive thread pattern on the tyres, this was virtually unstoppable offroad - as long as you had space for it. The gearbox was a 2x5 twin stick configuration.
The MDM44 “Wolverine” saw various uses, the radio communications vehicle seen here being one of the more rare variants. Not only was it used by the Ariyan army but also exported to various countries.
The last deliveries of MDM44s was done in 1993.
