Scania Vabis · 1944–1959
Scania-Vabis L10
The Scania-Vabis L10/L40/L51 was a series of trucks produced by Swedish automaker Scania-Vabis between 1944 and 1959.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Scania-Vabis 314 · Successor: Scania-Vabis L55
All Scania Vabis L10 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Scania-Vabis L10
During the Second World War Scania-Vabis’ entire production went to the Swedish Armed Forces and other public institutions. The company designed a new generation of trucks for post war times, when the pent-up demand for new trucks was expected to boom. The first post-war model, L10, was introduced in 1944. It was the first Scania-Vabis truck with left hand drive. The L10 Series had a four-cylinder variant of the module engine Scania-Vabis had introduced in the late 1930s, which was also built in the six- and eight cylinder versions, as petrol or diesel engine. The diesel engine in the L10 series was a pre-chamber engine. The truck could also be delivered with four-wheel drive, a version known as the F10. It had a war time chassis and military trucks were also sold with petrol engine. Before the war, Scania-Vabis purchased many components from Germany and Great Britain, but these were now largely replaced by Swedish-made components. Unfortunately, production was in several cases started without adequate testing and those first postwar trucks suffered quality problems that cost Scania-Vabis both money and reputation to repair.
Scania-Vabis L40
At the end of 1949, Scania-Vabis introduced a direct injected diesel development of their module engine. It had been designed in collaboration with British truck manufacturer Leyland Motors. With the new engine, the four-cylinder truck got its name changed to L40. Otherwise the truck was mostly unchanged. In early 1950 there were also a small number of the four-wheel drive F40 built, before that model disappeared because of low market demand. In 1951 the old fashioned non-synchro four-speed gear box was replaced by a synchronized five-speed transmission.
Scania-Vabis L51 Drabant
In the spring of 1953 the final development of Scania-Vabis’ module engines were introduced, with larger displacement. The four-cylinder truck was now called L51 Drabant, with a payload capacity of 5.5 to 6 tonnes. It was also the first Scania-Vabis truck with a proper name.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.
Specifications
- name
- Scania-Vabis L10/L40/L51 Drabant
- Manufacturer
- Scania-Vabis
- Production
- 1944 - 1959, 14,090 produced
- Predecessor
- Scania-Vabis 325
- Successor
- Scania-Vabis L55
- Class
- Medium/heavy duty truck
- Engine
- Scania-Vabis ohv inline 4
- Transmission
- 4/5 speed manual
- Wheelbase
- 3.4 m - 5.0 m
- Kerb weight
- 8500 kg - 11500 kg (gross weight)
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10662413CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scania-Vabis_L10CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1316406141 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scania-Vabis_2L12_Truck_1947.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Lars-Göran Lindgren Sweden · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.