It was the world’s largest truck – and it’s back on the road!

Meet the gargantuan Berliet T100

Take a look at this! It’s the Berliet T100 and when it was revealed in 1957 it was world’s largest truck.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, just four were built and today only two remain, meaning this classic behemoth is a proper rarity.

And now a massive undertaking will see it star at next week’s Rétromobile show in Paris! Let’s find out more about it.

A classic beast

Let’s deal with the big numbers, first – and they’re pretty impressive.

The Berliet T100 is 15m long, 5m wide and stands 5m tall. Or, if you prefer your measurements in the metric form, it’s 49ft long, 16ft wide and 16ft tall. Either way, it dwarfs everything around it.

Nothing bigger!

This 50-tonne six-wheeler proudly proclaimed its world-beating status when launched; indeed we’re sure its manufacturers soon ran out of superlatives.

The production process was no less impressive, either, given that it took a mere nine months to develop from the first sketch to its world premiere.

Pulling the crowds

You only really get a sense of the T100’s size when you see it alongside people – and it certainly attracted a lot of them when it made its debut 62 years ago.

An epic journey

Now it’s set to do it all over again, when it sits once more under the motor show spotlights at the place where it was revealed over six decades ago: the Porte de Versailles in Paris.

But, first, it has to get there…

A giant undertaking

As you can imagine, moving ‘The giant of the desert’ is no small feat. It was designed for large, open spaces, first working in Algeria for a mining company, transporting heavy equipment.

However, large, open spaces are in rather short supply in the French capital.

A logistical challenge

Transports Premat is the company tasked with getting the T100 from its Lyon home to Paris, a classic road trip like no other.

Convoi Exceptionnel

Fancy hearing a few more eye-popping facts about the mighty T100?

You got it. Now, we love a V12, but the one powering this truck is rather special, being a 24.25-litre, diesel-fuelled unit, that pumps out 700hp.

Tyred out?

More? Well it wears bespoke, low-pressure tyres by Michelin that are 2.2m in diameter and 1m wide.

Plus, each of the T100’s six wheels has four waterproof disc brakes – well, something this size needs significant stopping power.

Stop and stare

In case you didn’t already get the message, we’re rather excited about seeing it when it appears at next week’s Rétromobile.

It’ll add a dash of variety to what is already an excellent show, and we'd go so far as to say it will be a truly unmissable exhibit. Quite literally, due to its size…

Rétromobile takes place from 6-10 February in Paris. Read our full preview here.