The return of the Super name is a logical choice for Scania, it has been used historically by the brand when new engines were introduced and was often written somewhere on the front of the truck, in the past. The 13 litre engine in the two Scania Super trucks tested is an all-new engine for Scania. This test drive included the 460hp version and the 560hp version, which taking the 13 litre into unknown territory.

Apart from the lifting of the compression ratio, ever conservative Scania has stuck with tried and tested technology, There’s no VGT or turbo compounding, the designers have simply put together a stronger design with conventional components which can cope with a higher compression ratio.

There’s no EGR, but a two-stage SCR, the main dose is injected just after the turbocharger exhaust outlet near the exhaust brake flap where the exhaust gas is hot and turbulent. This better atomises the AdBlue for a more efficient clean up of NOx.

High compression engines tend towards higher ignition temperatures, in cylinder, leading to higher NOx and lower PM in the exhaust flow. Therefore a more efficient SCR system is needed and PM levels are more easily controlled.

Scania Super powertrain

Maximum torque on the 460 engine is available from 900 rpm at 2500Nm (1850ft lb) and that is available up 1280rpm. 1300rpm is the point at which the power curve flattens out before rising slowly to maximum power between 1700 and 1800rpm.

On the 560hp version of this engine the torque maxes out at 2800Nm (2065ft lb) which is up there, in terms of torque, with many of the 15 and 16 litre engine available.

“To put it in perspective ,at 2800Nm it matches a 2658 16 litre Benz,” says Benjamin Nye, Director of Truck Sales at Scania Australia.. “It matches an FH 16 litre Volvo and it out-torques an X15 at its top horsepower rating. So it’s huge torque.”

PowerTorque asks Ben whether asking for 2800Nm out of a 13 litre engine is pushing the 13 litre engine too far. His answer is an emphatic no.

“That is the first horsepower rating for that engine, that was the first one that got developed,” says Ben. “The engine is designed to do it, we’ve done that through smart engine design, not seeing how much boost and fuel that we can jam down its throat. It’s been done from a fundamental engine design.

“Plus, we still offer a 16 litre in the V8. So people have that opportunity, if they want capacity. We do find in certain applications, the old adage ‘there is no replacement for displacement’ comes into it. I strongly believe when you start getting into the heavier weights, that is the realm of the 590hp 16 litre. Scania work with our customer base to make sure that we’ve put the right truck in the right job.”

That right job for the 13 litre is expected to be interstate, intrastate and local B-double, plus some A-double work and probably road train in WA. Testing and studying fuel use data on these heavy duty cycles is helping to find the point where the V8 engine becomes more economical, because it’s doing it that bit easier.