Supplied by dealer Rygor Commercials, the Cheltenham-based operator’s new addition is a 7.5-tonne Atego 823 with ClassicSpace L-day cab, and is powered by a 228bhp, 5.1-litre engine paired with a six-speed PowerShift automated manual transmission.
The covered single-car transporter body is by Oxford Specialist Coachbuilders, of Chipping Norton. It has sliding doors on both sides and a hydraulically-operated rear closure, which doubles as a ramp for loading and unloading. Additional slide out ramps can be used to reduce the load angle, eliminating the risk of damage to cars that sit particularly low.
The Atego is fitted with a roof-mounted air deflector and carries the Ferrari logo, as founder Bob Houghton has been associated with the Italian brand for 55 years.
He first worked on a Ferrari belonging to a friend in 1964, aged just 14. Today, as well as building engines for classic cars and preparing race cars, the firm also maintains and sells supercars on behalf of its clients.
David Houghton (pictured), son of the founder, says: “Bob Houghton has forged an enviable reputation which is based on our engineering and mechanical expertise.
“We recognise and appreciate fine machinery, and that’s what we see in the Mercedes-Benz Atego. Our former truck provided exceptional service for a decade and a half. It was only towards the very end, as one or two issues started to crop up, that we decided the time had finally come to replace it. Given past experience, we were only ever going to do so with another Atego.”
The new truck will be maintained by the workshop team at Rygor’s Oxford branch.