Back before regulators became enamored with batteries, efficiency was the big green play: aerodynamic fairings, wheel covers, trailer skirts, trailer tail pieces and nose cones – trucking efficiency and chasing MPGs used to be an aftermarket bonanza. Now much if it is standard, at least some of the pieces that were able to hang around are.
Then came light-weighting: tucking in aluminum wherever it made sense and spec'ing an 11-liter or 13-liter engine because they made sufficient power for most applications. Gone were the days of max power at all costs. I think they called that right-sizing.
Light-weighting helped drive Volvo's 16-liter out of the North American market in 2017, but across the Atlantic Volvo this year unveiled an even larger engine. But make no mistake; it's all about efficiency.
The D17 is the largest and most powerful diesel engine Volvo's ever put in a truck. That's fitting because I was able to drive the D17 diesel in Sweden recently and it was bolted to the largest, heaviest and longest rig I've driven in my life.
Available in three versions (600 hp, 700 hp and 780 hp), these engines grip the asphalt with 2,200, 2,500 and 2,800 lb-ft of torque.
This 17-liter diesel engine utilizes a dual-stage turbocharger and heavy-duty steel wave pistons to maximize power density, and a common rail injection system for high fuel efficiency and low exhaust emissions.
So how is this monster an efficiency play? Sweden late last year implemented new length and weight restrictions for heavy trucks, allowing a combination of trailers totaling 113 feet in length and up to 74 tonnes (about 163,000 pounds) on select highways. The short version: one really huge truck can move twice the freight of a normal one, according to Volvo Trucks Director of Environment and Innovation Lars MĂĄrtensson, while producing 27% fewer emissions.
