Iglhaut AllRad

TEXT AND IMAGES BY BRYON DORR

This Sprinter is fun at any speed.

“‘ALLRAD’ IS GERMAN FOR ALL-WHEEL-DRIVE, AND THE IGLHAUT ALLRAD SYSTEM HAS TRANSFORMED THIS BASIC TWOWHEEL- DRIVE MERCEDES SPRINTER INTO THE ULTIMATE OFFROAD VAN. YOUR EYES AREN’T DECEIVING YOU, THIS BEAST IS ROLLING ON MASSIVE 37-INCH TIRES.”

With 15,000 miles on the odometer, Daniel Kuttner’s Iglhaut Allrad up-fitted Mercedes Sprinter has already proven itself on and off road. From cruising the autobahn at 110 mph to crawling the rocks of Moab, this beast has done it all with composure and confidence.

“Allrad” is German for all-wheel-drive, and the Iglhaut Allrad system has transformed this basic two-wheel-drive Mercedes Sprinter into the ultimate off-road van. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you, this beast is rolling on massive 37-inch tires.

The Iglhaut Story

Let’s start at the beginning. Fritz Iglhaut was a truck driver in the ’50s who had a dream of building his own trucks, a dream shared by two of his four sons, Friedrich and Hans. They built their first truck in a clay mine after hours. By the ’60s, Fritz and Friedrich had built several trucks and Hans had become a master technician at Mercedes.

The first Iglhaut Mercedes dealership opened in 1965 in Marktbreit, Germany. The dealership quickly gained a reputation for superior quality and craftsmanship, and a can-do special projects ethos. The business continued to grow, and in 1979, Iglhaut’s automotive fabrication division moved into its own facility.

Any terrain, any time. The Iglhaut Allrad Sprinter is ready to explore.

In 1983, Iglhaut was commissioned to build an all-wheel-drive Mercedes 207D for an alpine hotel owner, which proved to be so good that two more were ordered. This was the first AWD conversion on a Mercedes commercial vehicle, and lead Iglhaut down the four-wheel-drive conversion business model they have today.