Driving impression: Claas Scorpion 7040 Varipower Plus telehandler It would be fair to say that Claas’s previous attempts to establish itself in the highly competitive European telehandler sector haven’t been wholly successful. Yet this situation is about to change, says Claas, now that its all-new Scorpions are starting to appear on farms. Launched at Agritechnica 2005, the Scorpion 7040 Varipower Plus is the subject of this driving impression.
As set out in a profi used machinery review earlier this year (profi 7-8/06), the Claas Targo telehandler range wasn’t all bad. Then again, it wasn’t all that good either. The machine suffered a somewhat chequered history and, to be blunt, the Claas badge deserved better.
And here is Claas’s ‘better’. Though still very early days in terms of a product’s life cycle, the all-new Scorpion would seem to have all the necessary ingredients to advance the company’s reputation in a sector currently dominated by the likes of JCB, Manitou and Merlo. Laden with spec, the new Claas Scorpion family comprises a five-model line-up:
Model Max Max Hp lift load (to ISO 9249)
6030 6.25m 3.0t 75kW/102hp1)
7030 7.10m 3.2t 75kW/102hp1)
6040 6.25m 3.6t 100kW/136hp
7040 7.10m 4.1t 90kW/122hp2)
9040 8.95m 3.5t 90kW/122hp2)
Also available with 90kW/122hp1) or 100kW/136hp2) engines
The above new range is a joint development by Claas and Kramer, the four-wheel steer loader manufacturer. Kramer builds the handlers and looks after all sales and service within the construction sector, while Claas takes care of agriculture. Now to the machines. Starting out with the boom, Scorpion adopts the modern approach to arm location, mounting it low down and pivoting at the rear so that the operator benefits from an unimpeded view to all handler corners.
