From Stavanger, drills, pipes and other materials are distributed to the different oil fields. In order to reduce transport times, a great deal of the transported materials are first driven along the coast roads before they are shipped out to the oil rigs.

It is frequently a question of heavy and demanding truck transportation on narrow roads with inclines of up to 8%.

Tore Åse is a veteran when it comes to heavy goods transport assignments for the oil industry.

He was also the first to take delivery of the world’s most powerful truck: the Volvo FH16 700. Tore has now driven the new truck for a month and can compare it with his old vehicle.

Here is his take on the vehicle.

January 7 is a historic day for all truck enthusiasts. Today is the day Volvo Trucks is launching the world’s most powerful series-manufactured truck. The Volvo FH16 with 700 hp and 3150 Nm of torque.

Volvo Trucks is the first manufacturer in the world to be able to put a 700 hp badge on its vehicles. The truck model in question is the company’s flagship, the Volvo FH16, which to date has had a maximum power output of 660 hp.

Prestigious powerplant

“The Volvo FH16 is intended for the very heaviest and most demanding of transport operations. It is also a highly prestigious truck for the customer who is looking for something truly out of the ordinary. And with 700 hp, the Volvo FH16 sets itself apart from everything else in the industry,” says Staffan Jufors, President and CEO of Volvo Trucks.

Competitive fuel consumption

With higher power, one might well expect that fuel consumption would head in the same direction, but that is not the case.

“Our aim is to have both the best performance and the best fuel economy in the segment. We have succeeded in keeping fuel consumption the same as before despite the power increase. In a comparison with the competition, we are doing very well indeed,” reveals Staffan Jufors.

Lower environmental impact

The Volvo FH16 is certified for the new Euro 5 European emission requirements that come into force in autumn 2009, which means that emissions of nitrogen oxide have been cut by more than 40 percent. In other words, the Volvo FH16 has become even more powerful but without compromising on the environment. In addition to the 700 hp version the Volvo FH16 is also available in variants producing 540 and 600 hp respectively.

Here’s how it came about.

Raise engine power, lower emissions and maintain fuel consumption at the same level as before. That was the brief that Volvo Trucks’ engineers were given in spring 2006. They had three years to develop the world’s most powerful truck without compromising on either emission requirements or fuel economy.

The D16G engine builds further on Volvo’s previous 660 hp 16-litre engine. It has been given another 40 horsepower to ensure that Volvo Trucks is the first truck manufacturer to break the 700 hp barrier.

Power and torque are all very well, but the really big achievement is that Volvo’s engine designers have succeeded in combining this increased engine power with lower emissions and unchanged fuel economy.

“Simply increasing engine power output is one thing, but doing so without raising emissions or fuel consumption is a far more difficult task,” says Henrik Lindeberg, Chief Project Manager for the new D16G engine.

A classic dilemma

One absolute requirement was that the new truck should meet Euro 5, the European emission regulation that come into force on October 1, 2009. This meant that nitrogen oxide emissions had to be cut by just over 40 percent.

Volvo’s engine experts thus faced a classic dilemma: in order to reduce fuel consumption, it is important to make the combustion process as efficient as possible. However, this has the downside of increasing the engine’s emissions of nitrogen oxides. And in order to deal with that, it was necessary to expand the capacity of the exhaust after-treatment system. Developing and improving an engine is largely about creating an optimised solution, from fuel injection all the way to exhaust pipe, in which each and every measure must be considered very carefully to ensure that the finished product is as good as possible.

Extreme tests

The project group behind the new engine worked for three years to develop, test and evaluate various solutions. From concept to prototypes, lab analyses and field tests. Since the Volvo FH16 is built for the very heaviest and most demanding of haulage tasks, the field tests were conducted in operating environments that offer tough, some would say extreme, conditions.

“The new Volvo FH16 has hauled heavy road trains through Australia’s deserts, carried timber in northern Sweden and operated in severe cold and was tested at altitudes of up to 3600 metres in the Rocky Mountains,” relates Henrik Lindeberg.

Project reaches its goal

So how did it all go? The results speak for themselves. The project group handled the task brilliantly. The Volvo FH16 has not only become the world’s most powerful truck, it also meets the Euro 5 requirements. And, not least, it offers highly competitive fuel economy.