a saying soon sprung up among drivers going for a job:‘ No Vee, No Me’, they would bark at prospective employers, who as often as not would accommodate their demands, not only out of acquiescence but also with the pride which came with knowing they were operating the truck fast-becoming known as‘ King of the Road’.
On the international front in the 1�70s, those heady days when we had a thriving international haulage industry, operators traversing the Alps, Pyrenees and the Jura were loving the big V8 too. And for those tra�elling further afield, firms such as the legendary Astrans, the Scania V8 was a must. But, as always, people wanted more …
UPPING THE POWER Scania has long declared its policy of continuous improvement, and in that respect the V8’ s story is no different from any of the firm�s other products� As time went by, incremental power increases were regularly introduced. When the company celebrated its centenary in 1991, the range-topping �1�3 �treamline could be specified with a 500 hp V8 variant.
By the mid-1990s, the power had been upped to 530 hp and torque
increased to 2300 Nm. Despite having been beefed up by 180 hp, the underlying design of the Scania V8 remained the same as the day it was launched back in 1969.
The next major change came about in the year 2000, when Scania launched an extensively revamped unit as part of its engine platform for the �uro 3 exhaust emissions standard and beyond. The unit’ s swept volume increased from 14.2 to 15.6 litres, with a longer stroke and four valves per cylinder. Designated DC16( D for diesel, C for charge-cooled and 16 standing for the capacity in litres, rounded�up for good measure), the power once again increased, this time to 580 hp and 2700 Nm torque�
Today, Scania’ s V8 has grown even more. Displacing a mighty 16.4 litres, power outputs of 520, 580, 650 and 730 horsepower are now available. While the 730 unit utilises both �electi�e �atalytic �eduction( ���) and �xhaust �as �ecirculation( ���) to ensure �uro 6 compliance, the 520, 580 and 650 variants operate on SCR only.
Complimented by improved thermal management, combustion and injection systems, Scania says its latest generation V8 engines offer improvements in fuel... P
You can download a V8 engine sound, for use as a ringtone, here: www. scania. com / global / en / home / misc / fairs-and-events / listen-to-a-legend