Hi there, thats me, Ralf Koch from Germany. No, such trucks was never in operation in Italy. I was several times in Iran and I know the machines and the heavy hauling business very well. The shown Macks are in use at Unitrans, Iran Dena, are two F 997SX, built in 1975 for military operations. The Iranian engineer told me that this two units was part of a series of propably four units, built for the military application at first. Only this two tractors are known in civilian use now. Both 6x4 trucks are powered by the E9 V8-engine and 500 hp, manual gear boxes and planetary axles. Iran Dena is one of the major companies in the Persian heavy hauling business. More information about this tractors and many other impressive Mack trucks, stories and background information you can find in my book about this business: It is a book about all heavy transport companies in Iran and about the equipment of each company About 650 pictures in color, starting from the history with Mack B87SX up to the oversize RD800SX or DM800SX on planetry axles. Different units was deliverd as customized prototypes, so many models you have never seen before, for sure!! Check the preview picture to get a feeling about the working condition. Up to 7 tractors, 500hp each, pulling a heavy load! Other transports have to cross rivers of 5 feet water! ... and most of the tractors are 30 years old! Heavy Hauling Iran www.truckbook.de Best regards Ralf