OM X-series Guides, Photos and Videos

The OM X-series was a light to medium-duty truck model produced by the Italian manufacturer OM in 1972. While being superficially similar to the OM Lupetto, Leoncino, Daino, and Tigrotto, it was an all-new design - except for using the same doors as the earlier "zoological" series (thus called as they were all named after animals). The X-series was sold under a variety of other names as well, depending on the market. All but the two lightest models were replaced by the new Z-series in 1976, a design which briefly used OM badging but ended up being marketed exclusively as an Iveco.

Developed by OM, it was offered with a variety of different engines and with lots of different badges. The smallest versions used Fiat's 8040 four-cylinder diesel engine, and were marketed as Fiats, OMs or Unics in France. Mid-range versions (sold as OM or OM-Saurer) used the larger OM CO3 four-cylinder, developed together with Saurer of Switzerland. The heaviest models received Fiat's six-cylinder 8060 engine and were sold as Fiats or Unics, and also as the OM N100.

OM's versions were named with a two-digit code indicating gross tonnage ranging from the OM 35 to the 100, a system also used by Saurer on the versions they sold. The range was thus from 3.5 to 10 t (7,700 to 22,000 lb). Fiat and Unic used the same numerical system followed by NC (for Nafta Cabinato, "diesel cab-over"). Magirus-Deutz sold this range under their brand after 1975 and used their own air-cooled engines for some models (55, 60, 75). In Austria, this truck was marketed as a Steyr-OM. The X-series was also built by Zastava, beginning in 1978. Kits for the 35-40 were also sent from Zastava's plant by Iveco for CKD-assembly in Kano, Nigeria, by a company called NTM. These trucks received Fiat badging, as this brand was considered strongest in Nigeria.

The X-series cab was lightly facelifted a few years after its introduction, when the early metal grille was replaced by a black plastic unit with horizontal bars. The interior remained unchanged. "Iveco" badging also became more prominent after that company was founded on 1 January 1975. A more thorough redesign, with a new, more square cab, appeared in late 1976 and was called the OM Z-series. This replaced the earlier X lineup by 1977, although the Fiat 35/40 NC remained on sale until 1987 with the earlier cabin and it was built by Zastava in Yugoslavia into the early eighties.

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