
This 1976 Mercedes-Benz LP608 was built to be a German firetruck when new and was used in service by a small town until it was decommissioned in April of 2024. The current owner and seller has had ownership of it for three years and added 2,000 kilometers under their stewardship. This truck is powered by a 3.8-liter OM314 diesel inline-four linked with a five-speed manual transmission and it wears its original red paint. The bodywork was completed by Bachert and is a “Pullman” cabin which gives it extended seating and can fit 8 occupants. Details include emergency lighting, a rear ladder, roof storage, original water pump and valves, 17.5″ steel wheels, a dually rear axle, six roll-up doors, original interior storage functions, rear jump seats, and front bucket seats. Now showing 27k kilometers (~17k miles), this LP608 German firetruck is now offered out of Badbergen, Germany with its Fahrzeugbrief, manufacturer's literature, 2 keys including ignition and door, water pump operation instructions, and stamped service book.
This LP608 is painted in German fire-engine red and is equipped with emergency lighting, a high-mount spotlight, rooftop storage, side-mounted rear view mirrors, four mudflaps, and six roll-up doors. This truck is a “Pullman” meaning it has an extended rear cabin that can be seen as it has four doors. The water pump is still attached at the nose of the truck complete with its valves and covered by a tonneau. There are dings around the body as noted by the seller and rust under the front headlights.
Six 17.5″ steel wheels are at each corner of the car with four at the rear axle. Hankook DHO5 8x17.5 tires are mounted on each wheel with 2014 date codes. Brakes are powered by hydraulic dual-circuit brakes.
The interior is trimmed in black vinyl for the front seats and redwood laminated seat bottoms with a black vinyl perforated bench for the backrest. The front cabin is covered in a hosable rubber floor mat with plywood interior trim and wind up windows front and rear. The front seats are mounted to powder coated steel binnacles that house the engine and other mechanical components of the vehicle with diamond plate kickpanel. The rear seats are mounted to diamond plate storage boxes in the rear cabin. This LP608 can seat 8 occupants. The rear cabin still retains most of the original storage componentry for firefighting and rescue tools. Six roll-up doors let the crew access all of their tools from the exterior of the truck. Leather tethers were left in the vehicle to keep tools from sliding during transit.
The two-spoke plastic steering wheel frames a 100-kph speedometer and another instrument pod that shows fuel, temperatures, and other vital information. Backlit indicators show blinkers and auxiliary lights with switch gear for the above. Levers for the fan that provides fresh air is located in the center console. The odometer now shows just over 27k kilometers (~17k miles) from new with the current owner adding over 200 kilometers over the past three years of ownership.
The original 3.8-liter OM314 diesel inline-four is rated at 85 horsepower and about 180 foot-pounds of torque and routes power to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. A stamped service booklet can be seen in the gallery below. Easy top end access to the engine bay is granted from under the front seats. Pictures of the engine compartment are shown in the gallery.
Now showing 27k kilometers (~17k miles), this LP608 German firetruck is now offered out of Badbergen, Germany with its Fahrzeugbrief, manufacturer's literature, 2 keys including ignition and door, water pump operation instructions, prior TUV documents, and stamped service book. The seller can drive the truck to Bremerhaven if needed for shipping.
There’s something about a firetruck that tickles the inner boy in all of us. The L608 debuted in the mid ‘60s as a rigid axle with rear leaf spring mid-sized utility truck to fill the gap in the market that Auto Union once dominated, but they were sold to Volkswagen and the brand didn’t see the need to continue making vehicles for that segment – so Mercedes-Benz stepped in and cornered the market. This Pullman L608 showcases an extended crew cab complete with its emergency lighting and still intact water pump at the nose of the vehicle. It is in wonderful original condition and is a cool piece of Cold War era West German utility vehicles. The interior still has all of the original firefighting storage binnacles complete with leather tethers and easy access to the roof. Plus it was in operation up until the middle of 2024 for a little town in Germany. This is such a charming machine.
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