Scania's claim to be "the first heavy vehicle manufacturer to offer a Euro-5 engine without exhaust after-treatment" will clearly not go unnoticed by all those British truck buyers who remain wary of SCR (selective catalytic reduction), but who want to go to Euro-5 with their next truck. And the power unit that will spearhead the Swedish truck maker's attack on Euro-5 will be its all-new 12.7-litre in-line six, available from 360-480hp. As well as EGR (exhaust gas recirculation), it features XPI, the latest result of Scania's high-pressure-fuel-injection partnership with US engine manufacturer Cummins.
Maximum torque on the most powerful 480hp rating is an impressive 2,500Nm - the same as Scania's 500hp V8. The latest '13-litre' six pot is joined by a new 9.3-litre five-cylinder Euro-5 EGR engine rated at 230-320hp. The two engines share a number of features from what the truck maker describes as its "common engine platform" including Scania's trademark separate cylinder heads, a high-mounted camshaft and stronger blocks - but without going to carbon graphite iron construction.
The 13-litre engine's new XPI (short for "extra high-pressure") common-rail fuel system, with electronic unit injectors, can operate at up to 2,400bar. Meanwhile, Scania's latest electronic fuel-management unit ensures far greater control of injection timing and metering independently of the camshaft and engine speed. The system allows multiple injections throughout the combustion cycle with pilot, main and post-injection phases, the last of which helps to further reduce soot and NOx by ensuring prolonged swirl in the combustion chamber.
The new in-line six sports a Cummins/Holset variable-geometry turbocharger (VGT) with a sliding annular ring (similar to the system used by Iveco on its Cursor engines). The VGT increases turbo boost pressure at low revs, ensuring quicker throttle response as well as helping to speed up changes through the Opticruise auto box. To ensure maximum efficiency within the EGR process, Scania has developed a patented two-stage water-and-air cooling system which lowers the temperature of the exhaust gases being fed back into the engine from the previous 150°C to 50°C. This further reduces the formation of NOx.
The current Euro-4 8.9 and 11.7-litre engines will continue to be sold alongside the new 9.3 and 13-litre power units which, for now, will only be offered at Euro-5. Among the many claims made for the new 13-litre is that it will deliver Euro-3 fuel economy with Euro-5 emissions... not a bad trick if it can be achieved on the road. But above all else it needs no exhaust after-treatment to reach the Euro-5 emission standard which comes into effect in 2008/9. The other good news is that it's up to 90kg lighter than the previous 11.7-litre engine.
Alongside its Euro-5 engine, Scania also unveiled two new cab variants, both of which should be of particular interest to weight-conscious operators and space-hungry drivers. The G-Series falls between the smallest P-Cab and tallest R-Cab, taking on 'compact' rivals such as the Daf CF, MAN TGS and Volvo FM. Rather than raise the existing P-Cab, the Swedes have taken the basic R-Cab structure and lowered it, accepting a higher engine tunnel for a lower roof line. The G-Cab has an engine hump height of 310mm, compared with 450mm in the P-Cab and 160mm in the semi-flat-floor R-Cab.
There are no less than five G-Cab options, from short day cab to 'Highline' sleeper. However, the tallest Topline sleeper remains the sole preserve of the R-Series. The G and R-Cabs gain bigger exterior lockers while inside there's a drawer in the centre of the dash as well as a cup-holder and tray. The overhead lockers on G and P-Cabs get lids instead of nets. The G isn't the only new cab Scania has finally bowed to the inevitable and launched the factory-built Highline P-Cab. After being chivvied by Dutch Scania importer Beers (which got fed up of waiting for a high-roof P-series and created its own), the marketeers in Sweden have got the message.
CM checked out the new G-Cab and high-roof P-Cab - and perhaps surprisingly, we like the P Highline more. It's an attractive product for the driver who wants decent space inside a small truck cab for resting or the odd night away. Underneath the raised single bunk is good storage space either side of the centre drawer. The Highline top allows the driver to stand upright comfortably in the passenger well, although you still have to clamber over the engine hump to get to the raised bunk. But sitting up straight on the bunk is no problem.
The G-Cab, by way of contrast, seems to be neither fish nor fowl - even with the Highline top you still can't stand up on the engine hump. However, there's plenty of overhead locker space, and it could find favour with UK fleets who send trucks out for a week at a time but are not keen to splash out on the taller R-Cab.
During CM's visit to the Scania factory we were shown a prototype engine based on Scania's vaunted Homogenous Charge-Compression Ignition (HCCI) concept that uses the leanest possible air/fuel mixture to keep emissions down. The example seen by CM also featured hydraulically operated variable valve timing: with the right fuel the HCCI engine is said to produce zero NOx and zero particulates. Scania is keen to develop HCCI as its platform for Euro-6 and beyond.
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