TechnicBRICKs: 2H11 LEGO Technic Unimog, shows up at Nuremberg Toy Fair

It's time for the annual Toy Fairs...

Tons of images and videos are already available online from almost every new LEGO theme for the 2H. No watermarks in these!

The Technic theme is no exception, but so far we have just seen images from the most waited Orange 8110, Unimog.

From these we can already anticipate with precise detail, which functions it will have included.
So lets see the images first!

And also one photo from the box backside, showing the 8110 B-model. Another Unimog U400, this time equipped as a Snowplow.

Edit:
Later than usual, I'm now editing this post to include my own comments on the images circulating since yesterday.
Obviously I can't pretend that I've not read all that I've already read from your good comments, so lets make it a kind of summary...

The more I look into this set, the more superb it looks to me!

I'd resume the main highlights about this 2011 flagship into:

Despite some initial doubts of mine, it is now definitely clear that the new color here massively introduced is Orange and not the Bright Light Orange. I say "massively" because of course it is not the first time that we get a few orange parts into a Technic set. But never as the set main color.
It looks the gods in Billund have listen to us!
Hopefully our enthusiasm will also correspond to a commercial success that pays-off, and the LEGO Technic team will recognize it. So that this could become the first of many other future sets, making use wide of orange color.
There are a few new beams produced in orange (1x13 and Liftarm 3x5 L-Shape), and also many of the new Technic panels (6 out of 12) were produced in this new color, at once!
There's also a new color for the Panel 5x11. Light Bluish Gray (LBG) seems a very useful color for this part and also a very nice fit into this model.
New tires for the 44772 wheel. We can't see any numeric inscription on these so far, so we can't be sure about their dimensions. However they look quite similar in size to the old 2997 (81.6 x 34 x ZR) and x1825 (81.6 x 34 x R). Maybe a bit wider as it looks.
Basically they got a new track, probably more suitable for this class of vehicles (trucks) and scale.
It looks like the Tecnhic Axle 11 has finally came through! The axle holding the thee range round pin joiners, in the sides of the cabin roof.
LBG, as it is the actual color code for the odd length axles.

Inline 4 dummy piston motor, under the cabin.
HOG steering also on the cabin roof, and most likely no functional steering wheel.
Modular attachments with functions.
4-way switch box to control the several model functions.
Motorized pneumatic pump, despite not visible, must be present in this set for sure!
Good amount and variety of pneumatic elements, including one rare small pneumatic cylinder in yellow.
We can also say, this is probably the best pneumatic set since 8455, Backhoe in 2003 and a well deserved successor of the mythic 8868, Air Tech Claw Rig from 1992.
The huge parts diversity, may well turn this set into a best-seller among the AFOLs community.
Together with the usage of new Technic panels, there also seems to be a trend to increase the number of SYSTEM parts used into Technic models, in order to achieve some aesthetics effects and better looking models.
Although discrete, the Mercedes license brings the mandatory stickers. The drawback is that we won't get to know who designed this set, via the stickers...

Some other considerations about this set functionalities, should include:

The 8110 Unimog is designed to deliver one electrical and one pneumatic function, at both its rear and front sides. The function selected to work in each moment, is chosen from a 4-way switch box located at the model left side on the chassis.
It seems designed in such way, that the main part of the model (the Unimog itself) could be reused in both A- and B-models, without modifications.
Then some different attachments can be built in order to provide the vehicle with several specific functions.
Out of the box we have one electrical winch (front) plus one electrical and pneumatic crane (back) for the main model. And one pneumatic plow (front) for the B-model.
In principle someone with enough spare parts, or multiple copies from this set, could attach both the plow and the crane, simultaneously to the front and back of the Unimog, and operate each function at a time.
The crane attachment has manually operated outriggers, an electrically controlled turntable that would allow to rotate the crane, and a pneumatic two section crane arm with a grabber which is controlled from the three pneumatic valves seen in the backside of the main model.
The switch box function has one yellow lever (left side) that allows to switch between electrical (turn up) and pneumatic functions (turn down). This means the M-motor used in this set, will engage into a transmission shaft or into the electrical pump.
The red lever in the middle, allows to select whether the working electrical function is running in the front, or the backside of the model.
The red lever at right (attached at a pneumatic valve) selects whether the electrical pump is connected to the front pressurized air circuit, or to the one at the backside.
Wonder however, why did the designers have used different connectors for the yellow (62462) and red levers (6538c), when both parts actually produced in both colors, and they would look better if equal.
From the box in the first image, we can easily see in the front, one 3mm rigid hose coming through the hole of a blue Technic 1/2 pin. This shows how the model is prepared to get different pneumatic tools attached, and how easily they can be deployed.
The same also applies to the air outlet at the rear. There is a 3mm rigid hose going backwards as well, from the main pneumatic valve in the center.
Out of curiosity, these 3mm rigid hoses are show with different colors. Blue in the box (photo 1) and LBG in the exhibited model (photo 8).
This looks the perfect set, if TLG would like to release one or more add-on kits, with parts to build and attach different electrical and/or pneumatic tools. Something like the pack 5218, pneumatic pack was for set 8466, 4x4 Off-Roader.
This way one could easily equip the U400 with heavy functions simultaneously at the front and back.

Now about the drive train...

Some seem a bit expectant about the eventual existence of portal axles in this model. I'm not convinced this could be the case, as I also can't see evidence of the required offset to the axles.
It is however very likely this model has an AWD drive train. The images doesn't show it clearly, but the best trained eyes can identify with relative good certainty, differentials at both front and rear axes, respectively from photos 1 and 7. The presence of two differentials is a good indication of a third one, making this an AWD or 4WD vehicle (most likely AWD).
The suspension seems to use four 9.5L Shock Absorbers (Hard Spring).
Up to now the 9.5L absorbers have been always used with the same color for both the Cylinder and Piston Rod, except the red/black version used on 8475. However this seems not the be the case on the Unimog - The photos point to the utilization of a yellow/ black combination.
On the spring hardness we have different indications. 'Soft Spring' on the front axis, from the box image (photo 1) and 'Hard Spring' from the remaining photos where the absorber is visible. Guess the 'Hard Spring' is the most likely the variant used, due to the weight this vehicle might have.
Special notice should be made to the unusual position of the absorbers, in this Technic Unimog suspension, where they're placed with an offset relative to the center of each axis. In the direction of the vehicle limits, at both axis.
Another speculation has been around the eventual presence of the new 'CV Joint Axles' released with the new 8070, Supercar. While it is a natural thing to expect once we have seen how these were used attached to the rear differential, we can't do much more than speculate about, at this point...
However there is a much relevant comment from Al,
"Looking at the box art, specifically the three pins that hold the front wheel on, there appears to be a new part to mount the wheel on. Notice how the slots of the pins do NOT point towards the centre of the wheel." - like in x873c01.
Indeed this is true!
From the first photo (image of the box) we can also clearly see a CV Joint, on top of the front axis, in a very weird and unusual position. Either it is getting a different use from the usual (like a steering arm) or there is definitely something really new and huge behind those wheels...

It is my belief, that this Unimog still have big secrets to be revealed!
One single photo with a bottom view, would tell us a lot and answer many pending questions...