Morattab Land Rovers
Sometime in the late 1960s, Santana agreed a licence contract with Morattab to allow production of Santana Land Rover products in Iran. In their factory at Farsi, Morattab assembled Santana based 88" and 109" Series vehicles. Major components arrived from Spain as Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits. According to sources, Morattab started production of Santana Land Rover licensed vehicles around 1970. The Iranian Lightweight, although bearing a strong similarity to the Militar, was reported to be of almost 100% Iranian manufacture. Currently, around 90% of the vehicle's content is manufactured in Iran. However, Morattab has evolved separately from Santana, just as Santana did from Land Rover. Santana sold on their Series IV / 2500 production line to Morattab around 1995. Production volume in Iran in 2003 was 1,369 Station Wagon vehicles and 223 pick-ups. Based on the Santana 2500 design, the modernized 3-door Pazhan 2400 GS / GSV station wagon and the 4-door Pazhan 2400 GD / GLD pick-up models were introduced in 1999, with the 5-door Pazhan 2400 GL station wagon added in 2000. All the cars have 4x4 drive and Land Rover Defender style bodies, and are equipped with 2.4-litre 105hp engines.
In 2004, the following versions were launched:
The 5-door Pazhan 3000 GLV station wagon, and the 5-seat Pazhan 3000 GLD / GLP pick-ups, equipped with a 3.0-litre 160 hp V6 petrol power plant.
Arman Agahbanei wrote:
In 2004 Morattab decided to redesign the 3 litre Pazhan to be able to perform as well as the Land Rover Defender. In consequence, the Pazhan now has a few additions that the original Defender lacks. The most important feature is the selectable 2WD or 4WD system which allows the driver to send power to all wheels or simply to the back wheels.
It allows for a variety of power settings:
Rear wheel drive.
One fourth power to the front wheels, 3/4 power to the back wheels.
Fifty-fifty even distribution between front and back wheels.
The second feature is the new V6, 2972 cc (3 litre), 161 hp, 5000 RPM (Max) petrol engine which has been lifted from the 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero Galloper. Morattab would not disclose any more information about the engine, specifically the engine model. The Pazhan was supposed to be offered with both petrol and diesel engines but apparently laws in Iran did not allow for the diesel version to be developed.
Further laws restricting the production of this car meant that after 2007 the complete cabin GLV and GLH versions were no longer produced. Currently only the GLD double cabin pickup version is being produced. Apparently the engine only has a Euro II standard and its emissions mean that only the pickup version can be sold as it is technically classified as a "working-vehicle", as opposed to a "civilian-riding-vehicle".
Furthermore, the new Pazhans are equipped with hydraulic telescopic vertical coil 3 link suspension in the front and vertical coil 4 link suspension in the back, which gives the vehicle higher versatility, better handling and a significantly more comfortable ride in comparison to other off road vehicles currently being manufactured and sold in Iran.
An automatic gearbox version was on Morattab's drawing boards, which was abandoned. The new Pazhans now have a 5-speed manual gearbox and a hydraulic dry-clutch. They are also equipped with power steering, altitude meter, angle meter, and air conditioning. They lack other amenities such as power windows, a central automatic lock system and automatic seats. Most amenities are offered as optional extras which are offered by both Morattab and private modification companies.
The basic GLD pickup version is now being sold for 194,000,000.00 IRR (Approx nineteen thousand seven hundred USD)(2010)
Morattab Pazhan.
An updated Pazhan?
Recently found on the internet was this picture of an apparently updated Pazhan:
Does anyone have further info?
Sergey Semenov's Pazhan:
Sergey Semenov's 1993 Pazhan, fitted with the 2.5 petrol engine.
Mehrdad Mirhadi's Pazhan 3000 : 'Landy'
Mehrdad Mirhadi's Pazhan GLV 3000 -'Landy'
Top picture taken on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf.
Bottom picture taken near Shiraz City.
Help us with our research!
If you can help us out with more information regarding the Morattab company or the vehicles they have made, please do so. You can contact us at admin@lr-mad.co.uk.
Morattab pictures
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