First right-hand drive Freightliner Cascadia 126 model in the country in the spotlight
Well, we tipped its first public appearance would be in Brisbane and sure enough, there it was facing straight across the aisle at Kenworth; the first right hand-drive Freightliner Cascadia 126 model in the country, sporting a 36-inch XT sleeper.
Punched by a 600hp Detroit DD16 engine driving into a 12-speed automated shifter and chalking up big test kilometres in a top-weight B-double fuel operation, the right-hooker sat alongside the two lefthand-drive models which have been undergoing Australian testing since mid-way through 2018 in preparation for an official launch late this year.
VIDEO: Freightliner Cascadia first drive
Critically, Cascadia is set to raise the safety standard for conventional trucks in Australia to an entirely new and decidedly overdue level.
Confidence is running high within Freightliner but insiders say nothing is being taken for granted.
At every level of the organisation is the knowledge that it must get Cascadia right if the brand is to realise its true potential on the Australian market.
Photography: Steve Brooks and Nathan Duff