The new generation SUMB

The Sumb 4x4 - made by Simca Unic Marmon and Boquet has been for many years the mainstay of the French army and over the last 10 years many have been sold off, to both enthusiasts and commercial operators who found the off road capabilities of these portal axled rugged workhorses ideal for many applications – as long as they were within easy reach of petrol stations to feed the thirsty V8 petrol engines. There wasn’t an easy to change and readily available diesel engine to offer an upgraded version to the civilian market.
The prime user of the Sumb’s, M. Sarkozy's Armeee de la Terre, eventually realised that in huge numbers these trucks were just helping petroleum companies to get even ricer and began to phase them out in earnest.
But not all of them.
Several hundred were sent to Renault in 1999 for major rebuild and a radical change of power plant. By transplanting a 4cylinder 3.8litre Renault turbo diesel (already tried and tested in the bigger Renault TRM 2000 series) and a 5 speed two range transmission with diff locks, the Sumbs were given a new lease of life. With enhanced electrics and upgraded brakes, these rugged trucks instantly became a far more serious rival to the Mercedes Unimog.
Just 7 years after all this work, the first of the diesel powered Sumbs have just been released from the military and already a fleet has made its way to the Ashford depot of RR Services to hit the civilian market. At work or play, these trucks will run and run. Unphased by extremes of temperature or terrain, these light trucks are deceptively rugged and powerful.
From as little as £4,000, these new generation of Sumb is truly a classic military vehicle and does everything the original version did, but better, more reliably and of course cheaper. The new Sumb certainly adds up to a success.