JOHN VINCENT Class Winner: 17 tonnes.
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john Vincent won the 11-tonne category with this friendly-faced 4x2 rigid featuring a modular interior—buy only the
accessories you want, and add more as you need them. Vincent, from Cardiff, relished the challenge of designing a hock: "With everything you do you come up against a practical problem."
He came up with an innovative wheel-mounted cab step, mounted by a single fixing to an extended stub axle, which saved 150mm in the length of the cab; one could make the cab bigger or add streamlining fins at the rear of the load box, reducing drag by 10%.
Our judges were not sure about the legality or practicality of the step, but were impressed by the overall shape of the cab and the presentation of the interior. Merrick Taylor pointed out that there is a substantial negative lobby against trucks, which is not so apparent with coaches. The large glass area and slightly sloped front of this design makes the driver visible and present a thoroughly nonthreatening image that can only be good for the industri.