1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164 
Volvo's 'Big banger' proves a wizard in Oz
Page 16
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
EXCLUSIVE
• by Steve Brooks While European truck operators will have to wait until at least this autumn before getting the first taste of Volvo's long-awaited new 16-litre straight-six, we can reveal the 'big banger' is already undergoing tough field trials on FH roadtrains Down Under.
Our colleagues on the Australian transport magazine Diesel spotted this eightwheeler PH tractor with a multitrailer combination—and they say it's one of at least four test units working in various parts of the country. Diesel's photographer noticed a complete absence of badging on the testbed combination, run by
Northern Territory Fuels out of Alice Springs. Moreover, questions about the power unit underneath the PH cab and its operation were met by a "wall of silence'.
According to Diesel, the various drivers of the truck are simply given a phone number to ring if a problem develops. The truck runs around the clock and at gross weights up to 150 tonnes, hauling 130,000 litres of diesel.
A 16-litre will feature amongst the 'new generation' of common engine platforms being developed by the Swedish truck maker for its Volvo, Renault and Mack heavy truck brands following a recent £26.5m investment at the SkOvde engine foundry and plant in Sweden. The money will cover the cost of "a new line for casting and modifications of the machining systems for the next generation heavy diesel engines", according to a statement released by Volvo.
CMexpects the new generation of engines to be Euro-4 ready, with the 16-litre six-pot adopting a unit injector-based fuel system in place of a previous in-line pump set-up. It is expected to appear before the end of 2003. The 16-litre engine is also likely to be used by Renault and Mack, not least to allow the latter to compete against similar big-volume diesels from Caterpillar and Cummins in the US and Australia.