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P... an eight-cylinder engine was taken in the early 1960s, in response to
operators demanding more than the company’ s established 11-litre straightsix could deliver. The attraction of a V8 configuration is that it is relati�ely small in physical size and can thus deliver more power and torque in a given space than its six-cylinder counterparts.
At the time of its launch in 1969, the first incarnation of �cania�s V8
16-litre engines
42
DC16 116 520 hp
DC16 117 580 hp displaced 14.2 litres and developed 350 hp and 1245 Nm of torque. Compared to the 260 hp of an 11-litre Scania engine of the time, it’ s easy to see why eyebrows were raised, not only among operators, but also among Scania’ s close competitors.
For drivers, the 35 per cent power boost that the Scania V8 provided was nothing short of sensational, not to mention the effect the characteristic and
THE PRESENT DAY LINE-UP OF SCANIA V8 ENGINES
Type V8
DC16 118 650 hp
DC16 108 730 hp
Displacement 16.3 litres 16.4 litres Firing order 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8 Cylinders
90 ° V8 Cylinder heads 8
Valves per cylinder 4 Bore x stroke
130 x 154 mm
Cam type Miller Normal Compression 22.2:1 20.3:1 17.4:1 Fuel injection
Scania XPI Emission control Scania SCR Scania EGR / SCR Exhaust brake 297 kW at 2400 rpm 320 kW at 2400 rpm Oil capacity
Max. output
Max. torque
520 hp( 382 kW) at 1900 rpm
2700 Nm at 1000-1300 rpm
580 hp( 427 kW) at 1900 rpm
3000 Nm at 950-1350 rpm
43 litres
650 hp( 479 kW) at 1900 rpm
3300 Nm at 950-1350 rpm
730 hp( 537 kW) at 1900 rpm
3500 Nm at 1000-1400 rpm
unmistakeable V8 sound had on all who heard it. Scania already had a powerful offering in the big vee’ s 11-litre sixcylinder sibling, but this engine was on another level.
The 350 hp rating of the V8 meant the old haulier’ s adage of‘ ten horses per ton’ was easily exceeded by a truck running at a gross train weight of 32 tons, and although 1245 Nm of torque is modest by today’ s standard( compared with the 3500 Nm of �cania�s current 730 hp V8) it was enough to leave other trucks for dead on steep inclines.
�ere in the ��, the V8 rapidly established itself as a firm fa�ourite amongst international hauliers and, in particular, operators based in Scotland and Northern Ireland. While drivers were universally happy, from an operator’ s point of view the V8 offered an excellent solution for minimising journey times. This was particularly so in the case of the Scots and the Irish, where the steep and tortuous nature of their roads caused untold numbers of slowdowns for lesser trucks. But the big V8 simply gobbled them up, getting back up to speed in no time. And, of course, there were no limiters in those days …
It didn’ t take long for word to spread, and before long �cania( �reat �ritain) �imited was reaping the benefits in terms of sales volumes. In Ireland,