Chapter 210

Ha Gong Da, school-run factory.

"Good, not bad, as long as we install the semi-automatic loading mechanism, our Truck Cannon can go out for a test fire!" Qin Miao looked at the Truck Cannon now fitted, also very pleased; when we originally designed the Truck Cannon, it was modular, so any truck could be fitted, and now switching from a Mercedes-Benz chassis to a Steyr chassis is easy.

The Steyr chassis is cheap, and once domestically produced it will be even cheaper, which means the Steyr chassis can be mass-produced for equipment!

"Eh, Mr. Levin, your mood today seems a bit off."

By rights, after the Truck Cannon is modified, Levin should be happy, so why does this old brother look so glum?

"Well..." Levin swallowed: "President Qin, I'm afraid we'll disappoint you; our Steyr heavy truck fell behind the Daimler and MAN military trucks in the comparative test, this time we might..."

"How could that be?" Qin Miao frowned; even if we can't beat Mercedes, we should still beat other products, right? Our Steyr heavy truck, in the five-model comparison, actually only ranks third?

These past few days, during the cooperation with the big guys, Qin Miao also heard Levin mention this bidding's comparative trial: five vehicle models participated in the bid, namely the German Daimler military vehicle, MAN 20.280-type military vehicle, Austrian Steyr's 1491-type military vehicle, French NOH TRM1000-type military vehicle and GBD type; the first four are 6x6 configurations, only the last is 4x4.

The facts prove that the French goods are indeed no good—just all talk, with very poor actual performance; in this bid they are at the bottom.

But Steyr failed to beat the two German entries, ending up only third.

That makes it hard to convince everyone, after all, only by standing out in the bid can one possibly be selected; now...

Levin felt helpless: "In the tests, our performance can't match the top two; the biggest gap is in fuel economy and acceleration..."

These two are both closely related to the engine.

If the engine performs well, then power is strong and fuel consumption low; Daimler originally makes engines, building trucks is just a sideline—you could say they sell engines and throw in a truck—while MAN stands alongside Mercedes, Scania, and Volvo as one of Europe's strongest heavy-truck makers, so its engine is naturally stronger than Steyr's.

Thus it seems Steyr is indeed not the strongest contender!

Qin Miao's gaze once again turned to the cab, where installed was Steyr's classic WD615 engine; this engine is rugged and durable, and after being introduced to the East its performance far surpasses that of domestic engines, but that is only compared to the existing domestic engines.

The Old Yellow River uses a marine engine, while Red Rock and Yan'an use products of 1960s French technology, with engines not even reaching 200 horsepower.

Meanwhile, the WD615 engine used on the Steyr starts at 200 horsepower! This is still the original naturally aspirated version, model WD615.00, with torque of 630 newton-meters.

Now on our Steyr we have installed the turbocharged version, model WD615.61, with power raised to 260 horsepower and torque to 840 newton-meters; it sounds strong, but... it's still not enough!

The Steyr engine was designed with great potential; later, developing to the extreme WD615.94, power can reach 370 horsepower and torque up to 1320 newton-meters.

Of course, after Weichai later obtained it, they upgraded it to the WP10 series, further increasing power, and after boring out the cylinders the WP12 can reach 500 horsepower—no dream!

Now Steyr still worries about insufficient power!

"This isn't difficult; if the transmission and rear axle can handle it, Ha Gong Da can help boost the engine's power, but..."

Levin's eyes lit up instantly: "But what? Please speak; as long as we can boost our engine's power and win the bid, we are willing to accept any of your terms."

"From now on, these added components will be produced by Ha Gong Da ourselves!"

"Good, no problem!"

This is a major matter concerning the development of their Steyr company; needless to say, even components they originally had to purchase externally, and even those they themselves produce, can be entrusted to Ha Gong Da for manufacturing—if the technology is inferior, outsourcing is natural.

"Well, then let's quickly prototype it, so our Truck Cannon can make a dazzling debut!"

West of the Capital lie continuous rolling mountains; crossing them brings one into Zhang Family Pass. Just beyond the mountains, the first county stations a tank unit with a code name, tasked with guarding the nation's western gate; moreover, being close to the water gives advantage, and some test projects are also carried out here.

Buzz, buzz buzz...

Amid the engine's roar, a heavy truck accelerated, charged up the slope, the engine began belching black smoke, its momentum like a rainbow.

The sound of gear shifts rang out intermittently, the gear position gradually lowered, speed gradually slowed, until finally the vehicle stopped on the slope.

"Seven hundred fifty meters! The Daimler military vehicle truly has the strongest performance!" Old Zheng exclaimed excitedly: "Old Yuan, you saw that, right? This Daimler military vehicle's performance in every aspect is quite formidable!"

The representative of the Daimler military vehicle project, Kurt, puffed out his chest: "Our military vehicle's performance in every aspect is the strongest; choosing us is absolutely correct!"

Buzz, buzz buzz...

This time we switched to the MAN military vehicle; continuing up the slope, it seemed to be gathering strength to surpass the Daimler, but... the driver made a mistake in operation, so it only reached over three hundred meters before the engine stalled.

"We made an operational error; please allow us to retest!" the representative sent by the MAN military vehicle project, Horst, shouted.

"No, of course not; that would break the rules, we must wait for the next test..."

The French are already doomed to have no hope, but as troublemakers they still have to play their part; since they can't succeed themselves, they naturally also want to watch others make fools of themselves, as now.

"This test result cannot be recorded; it's a mistake, a mistake, just like experimental data—we can only record the error, not the mistake..."

"If that's the case, how can we test at all? Any result obtained from testing must be recorded!"

Just as the two sides were arguing, from behind came the sound of an engine roaring again.

Its square, blunt front end, asymmetrical intake grille, and the 'STYER91' lettering on the left all indicate its identity.

But... the Steyr military vehicle already arrived, didn't it? Why are there two more? And one of them is even carrying a gun barrel, looking quite impressive!

The person in charge of Steyr's bid project, Ruebel, ran over: "Everyone, our improved test vehicle has arrived; we hope to conduct the test items with the new vehicle..."

Several Eastern military officers present did not nod, merely looking at Old Yuan, while Old Yuan looked at the Steyr's cab.

The vehicle came to a stop; a young fellow got down from the passenger seat.

"Old Yuan, what are you doing here?"

"How did you kid get here?"