MAN once again has the highest-powered production truck in Europe, having launched an SCR-equipped V8-powered flagship version of its new TGX XXL tractor.
Commenting on the 680hp 4x2 tractor, which generates 3,000Nm of torque, Karl-Viktor Schaller, director of engineering and purchasing at MAN, says: "We have a long tradition of powerful trucks, starting with the V10 at 460hp, 500hp and then 600hp."
But MAN's Georg Oehler, who was heavily involved in the development of the new engine, tells MT that there is more to the develoment of this engine than tradition and beating its German and Scandinavian rivals.
He explains that MAN envisages a Europe-wide incr-ease in overall GTWs, which will trigger an anticipated surge in demand for 600-plus horsepower to drive longer heavier vehicles (LHVs). The modified marine engine, which is the product of a joint collaboration with mobile crane specialist Liebherr, has been in development for the past six years.
In ships it can be rated as high as 1,200hp, but Oehler says the AS-Tronic (TipMatic) transmission is likely to limit its maximum power to 750hp in road-going trucks. As with Mercedes-Benz's flagship Actros, there are no immediate plans to produce a right-hand drive derivative.
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