Special paintwork and plate for latest addition to T Christie & Son Transport fleet – which is Tougher Than The Rest.
Company boss Tony Christie was enjoying a factory visit to MAN in Munich when he spotted the MAN centenary steel blue limited edition paint and insisted on the same colour for his newly purchased TopUsed MAN TGX 26.480.
Tony, who is in partnership with his son Paul, was treated to the visit in recognition of his loyalty to the MAN brand during his 10 years in business from his base in Milton Keynes.
He said: “We were on the tour and went through the truck handover bay in Munich when I saw a vehicle in those colours – it was absolutely stunning.
“A few weeks later and I was signing the deal for the TopUsed MAN TGX with our salesman, Scott Munton, and said I really wanted the vehicle in that colour.
“I am a Bruce Springsteen fan and all of my fleet carry the names of his songs. This one is ‘Tougher Than The Rest’. I wanted it to stand out and it has many extras fitted such as light-bars and Alcoa wheels. All of our drivers have their own vehicles and driver Ian McPherson was allocated this one.
“It has been on the road for a couple of weeks now and I don’t think a day has gone by without it being given a thorough wash – and if it does dare rain on it it is so well waxed that the water will run straight off.
“We pride ourselves on the condition of our fleet, and all our drivers are meticulous in looking after their vehicles, but Ian is taking extra special care of this one.”
T Christie & Son operate a fleet of 11 MANs, one TGA one 7.5 tonne TGL and nine TGXs. The company has also funded the vehicle through MAN Financial Services.
Tony added: “Having just taken delivery of the vehicle Paul and I are ecstatically happy with the finished product and I have to express my thanks to everyone from MAN and MAN Financial Services who has been involved.”
Sales executive Scott Munton added: “It seemed like a timely gesture to invite Tony to Munich as MAN celebrates its centenary year and he is celebrating a decade.
“When our TGX 26.480 XLX Efficientline2 demonstrator came up for sale and Tony agreed to buy it it was no surprise what we planned to do with it.
“It went through our rigorous TopUsed programme where a full refurbishment took place. The centenary steel blue colour was sourced from Germany and it then had the full centenary makeover, including a full chassis repaint in metallic grey.
“As Tony is celebrating an important anniversary MAN Truck & Bus UK gifted him the registration plate T100TGX too. Tony supplied us with the Alcoa wheels and euro bars to fit – finishing off what is an absolutely stunning truck.”