Volvo's 'The Iron Knight' Is A 2400hp Truck

A team of like-minded, technically strong and of course lunatics for speed have come together to build a truck that will set a world speed record. The powertrain is based on the same unit that sits in a road-going Volvo FH, but the engine has been pushed to its limits to produce maximum power.

By Carandbike Team

1 mins read

Published on August 18, 2016

Highlights

Volvo's 'The Iron Knight' is a 2400hp truck
Volvo plans to break the world speed record with this truck
We will know more about the record on August 24

Achieving dreams isn't impossible and that's what we've learnt from the folks at Volvo Trucks. A team of like-minded, technically strong and of course lunatics for speed have come together to build a truck that will set a world speed record. The powertrain is based on the same unit that sits in a road-going Volvo FH, but the engine has been pushed to its limits to produce maximum power. The truck has been christened as 'The Iron Knight' and it promises to achieve an impossible feat. The company has previously set the 1000 metre record at 158km/h with the 1600 hp Wild Viking truck and now is looking to up the ante. The Iron Knight will look to break that record and take things to a whole new level. "The Iron Knight is the perfect way to showcase the competence and innovative power of Volvo Trucks. At the same time, our aim was to generate new insights into technical and design solutions. The intention is to transfer some of these to our series-produced trucks," says Claes Nilsson, President and CEO of Volvo Trucks. Volvo's The Iron Knight What's going to take this mammoth across the line is a mid-mounted, modified D13 unit with water-cooled intercooler and four turbochargers. This engine is capable of punching out 2400 hp and developing 6000 Nm of torque. Volvo has scaled down the electric and electronic systems while most of the software has been re-programmed. This powerful engine also needs a transmission that'll be able to handle all this power and Volvo has a solution - the I-Shift Dual Clutch that is fitted to series-manufactured Volvo FH models. But there is an adjustment made to the gearbox in the form of a reinforced clutch which manages to handle the enormous torque. "In order to beat a world speed record, you have to have exceptional performance. The I-Shift Dual Clutch is the best possible transmission for the job since it maintains torque on the drive wheel during gear changes, just like a racing car does. Thanks to this The Iron Knight can accelerate without losing vital time during gear changes," says Niklas Oberg, Test Engineer at Volvo Trucks. The Iron Knight is a tribute to the Volvo FH. The cab is made of fibreglass and designed to cut air resistance to an absolute minimum. The side-skirts give the truck an impressive stance with their large air ducts that supply the engine with cooling-air. Racing driver Boije Ovebrink will be behind the wheel and The Iron Knight will take a tilt at the world record in two categories: 500 and 1000 metres from standstill. We'll know more about this on August 24, so stay tuned!