"Where's the new V8 then Brian? " asks Barney. And it's a good question too. Along with a few other truck journos Biglorryblog was expecting Scania to unveil a new V8 'Big Banger' at this week's new R-Series press bunfight. But in the true tradition of keeping us guessing the good folk at Sodertalje declined to play ball. So is there no 700hp V8 on the stocks? Was it all myth and legend? Not quite. During the Q&A session at the new R-Series launch Biglorryblog ventured to ask why there wasn't a new V8 truck engine - especially as at the recent Intermat 2009 construction equipment show Scania revealed the latest 16.4-litre Scania V8 (designated the DC16 EMS) as just one of the new range of low-emission industrial engines to meet Stage IIB and Tier 4i regs? And that's it below.
Funnily enough, Scania executive vice-president Martin Lundstedt seemed genuinely pleased I'd asked the question and had postulated that since the V8 was already available in industrial guise at 700hp it surely made sense to shove it under the hood of the R-Series cab (or words to that effect)?. "It's not a bad interpretation..." he said with a big smile, also adding that "The range is continuously developing..." be that as it may, for the moment Scania buyers will have to make do with the current 15.6-litre Euro-5 vee-diesel with 'just' 620hp and a 'mere' 3,000nm of torque. And when will Barney see a 700hp big-banger in Scania truck? My spies now tell me 2010 is the likely launch pad in the run up to Euro-6... And you can read how Scania is meeting the challenge of cooling Euro-6 engines by clicking through here... Along with a few more details on the new industrial V8 and what it could offer as a truck engine...
Thanks to some work on the grille and intake vents in the latest R-Series, which also has a revised front bumper and bottom inlets Scania says that it's significantly boosted the air flow through the R-Series' engine compartment and that "We can cope with the cooling capacity requirements at Euro-6."
But you want to know more about that new big V-8 don't you? Well the spec of the industrial version is pretty impressive. For starters, it's rated at 550, 650 and 700hp, shoving out 2,632, 28722 and 2,938Nm torque respectively too. It also uses the same jointly developed Scania/Cummins XPI comon-rail injection system which runs at up to 2400 bar pressure, higher combustion pressures and SCR - all of which is bossed by Scania's own engine management software. According to the official Scania press release from INTERMAT delivery of the new DC16 industrial engine starts in September 2010 (which would make a 2010 truck version launch logical). And for the record both the new industrial V8 and the current truck vee-engine share the same block...
The only other real question is will the good folks at Sodertalje leapfrog over the 700hp D16 used in the FH16.700 from 'the other lot' in Gothenburg? I guess we'll just have to wait and see until next year. Meanwhile, for a powerboost trip through the history of the mighty Scania V8 click on this link: http://scania.com/news/events/scania-v8-40-years/scania-v8-40-years-birth-of-a-king.asp.
Thanks Brian !