In early 2021, Mack Trucks revealed the new Mack Anthem and a revamped model line-up to Australia. Ultimately, Mack Trucks took their heritage and redesigned it for their future and Australia’s.

The Anthem's Journey to Australia.

The Mack Anthem brings a very unique look to the Australian market – it’s a truck that looks very ‘Mack’. The Anthem is all about functional design. It’s not designed to be trendy or gimmicky - it’s designed to be everlasting.

At the very start of the design process, Mack Trucks wanted to ensure that the customer had the best experience when they stand in front of the Anthem, when they’re behind the wheel, when they’re in the sleeper, or when they’re standing beside it. They wanted it to be a durable product and what Mack is all about. Mack wanted it to be bold and strong.

When it came to adopting the Anthem for Australia, the local Mack engineers did a great job in adapting the Anthem for our unique and demanding market. The main focus for Mack Australia when modifying the Anthem compared to the US basic truck, was that the Australian environment, of course, is much tougher in many ways.

Australia’s longer distances, hotter temperatures, more robust environment and the heavy weights trucks are required to run, are tough on a truck. So, Mack Trucks Australia needed to ensure and build an Anthem that was stronger, more durable and more reliable for the Australian market.

Bringing the Mack Anthem to Australia wasn’t the only project Mack Trucks Australia undertook, they also focused on an evolution of the other Mack models with the new driver and sleeper environment for the Metro-Liner, Trident, Super-Liner and Titan models.

In a nutshell, the new model and range offers a new stand up sleeper cab, redesigned interior, new transmission options and an all new model line-up.

The Anthem and Mack range project has been many years in the making and is the result of millions of dollars or investment, and many hours of kilometers of testing to develop a product that is suited to Australian customers and businesses.

The end benefit for you and your business is that a product has purposely been designed for the tough Australian market. All Mack Trucks are Australian made and have an Australian made certification. 

The Evolution of the Mack Range

The introduction of the Mack Anthem and the evolution of the current Mack range aimed to improve our customer’s business and the driver’s comfort. The all-new interior brings all the controls closer to the driver. It has everything the driver needs at their finger tips. The sleeper has a premium level of comfort, it’s more spacious in its interior and it has been designed around the way that the driver uses their vehicle.

One of the biggest things that you as a customer will receive and will enjoy is the technology improvement that’s in these trucks. The new Mack range welcomes the introduction of mDRIVE with deep reduction gears. The mDRIVE HD and XHD allows for more flexibility in low-speed applications. 

Discover more about the Mack Anthem and the updated range below.

Anthem

The new, locally engineered and Australian built Mack Anthem makes a striking new statement in exterior and interior design. Powered by the proven 13-litre Euro 5 MP8 engine with horsepower ratings ranging from 435 to 535hp and 1655-1920lb-ft of torque, the Anthem is set to tackle all manner of transport applications, from vocational rigid roles to B-double highway hauler.

The bold new look manages to capture aerodynamic efficiency whilst retaining a hard-edged profile. Aerodynamic gains have been aided by closing gaps between panels and minimising seams. Even the tow hooks in the 3-piece bumper have been covered to assist with air flow.

A single point bonnet latch makes daily checks safer and easier reducing the effort needed to tilt the bonnet. All exterior lighting is now handled by ultrareliable LEDs, boosting headlight output by 66% over previous incandescent bulbs.

The Mack Anthem is available as a sleeper or day cab and in 6x4 and 8x4 rigid guise or as a 6x4 prime mover.

As we said before, it’s not just the new Mack Anthem which is exciting, it’s the updates and improvements across the whole Mack Trucks range. Here’s a bit more about the Anthem and the new Mack model line up, including the Trident and Super-Liner.

Safety

An integrated Bendix Wingman Fusion active safety system is standard equipment in the new Mack Anthem, providing adaptive cruise control, blind spot alerts, autonomous braking and roll stability.

New Sleeper

A 36-inch integrated stand up sleeper cab is now an option for Anthem, Trident and Super-Liner models. The new cab features 1.8 metres of headroom in the cockpit and 2.1 metres of headroom in the sleeper compartment. The extra overhead space allows for additional storage in the driver’s compartment; while in the bunk, above the standard inner-spring mattress features sturdy overhead storage cupboards. LED courtesy lighting, 12-volt power outlets as well as USB charging ports are also featured in the new sleeper cab. There’s also the option of a slide out under-bunk fridge. Exterior locker boxes can also be accessed from the inside of the truck by lifting the bed.

Interior

A new interior design brings large, easy to read analogue gauges to bear along with tough, well-placed laser etched rocker switches. The mDRIVE transmission controls remain on the dash panel, however controlling the Powerleash engine brake is now done via a steering column mounted multi-function stalk. A 5-inch colour digital Co-Pilot display makes navigating various digital menus and functions a breeze while on the move. The integration of the Bendix safety system now means that much of the system’s functionality can be accessed via the Co-Pilot display.

Transmissions

The mDRIVE automated manual transmission get some extra low gearing with the arrival of the mDRIVE HD and mDRIVE XHD transmissions. By providing options of deep reduction gearing these transmissions offer safer heavy hauling at high gross weights with excellent start ability/gradeability, eliminating the need for auxiliary transmissions. The 13-speed mDRIVE HD offers a single reduction gear that not only helps for heavy lift offs, it also allows fuel conscious highway operators to specify taller final drive ratios to maximise fuel efficiency. The 14-speed mDRIVE XHD offers heavy haulage operators safe and flexible handling of big loads with peace of mind. These new mDRIVE transmissions also bring new features such as a “Rock Free” mode to allow the driver to rock the truck back and forwards easily if needing to gain traction off-road. A “Power Launch” function for off-road low-traction starts as well as Heavy-Duty and Maxi-Duty transmission modes for high GCM operation. Both transmissions are available behind both the 13-litre MP8 and 16-litre MP10 engines.

Connectivity

New electrical architecture across the range not only provides a smarter truck, it’s also more connected. Optional Predictive Cruise control allow the truck to record topographic data to optimise engine and transmission performance and, consequently, save fuel.