Welcome to 'Brian's Truck Report' with me, Brian Weatherley,
UK jury member for International Truck of the Year.
I've come to a slippery, snowy Sweden
to celebrate 25 years of Volvo's mighty 16-litre engine
in a real heritage haulage challenge. I'll be doing it with these two trucks:
The original big banger from Gothenburg, the F16 470,
and the world's most powerful series production tractor: the FH16 750.
I won't do it on my own. I'm joined by my old mate and truck driving colleague:
Volvo's Press Test Manager Jeff Bird, who's been around in Volvo
for as long as the 16-litre. Good morning!
Today's test is a hill-climbing challenge.
Both trucks must conquer one of Sweden's toughest gradients,
known as the Gothenburg Hill, located just outside of Jönköping.
With its 7 % gradient, it's infamous amongst Swedish truck drivers
for being especially tough.
Before we tackle the hill, let's grab a piece of nostalgia
with the classic F16 470.
This is a trip down memory lane for me.
It's a good twenty years since I was in an F16 470.
But the memories come flooding back. I'd forgotten...
...just how much torque there was on this engine, even at 470 hp.
I don't want to be impolite by saying how long you've been at Volvo,
but you were certainly at the original F16 470 launch.
There must have been a tremendous atmosphere. What was it like?
The reaction was fantastic. Many of our customers and operators told us:
'Why do you need so much power? Who's going to use that?'
But there were also many who couldn't wait to drive the mighty F16 470.
The rules of the hill climb are simple. Both trucks are loaded to 40 tons.
The clock starts as we pass under the first bridge at the bottom of the hill
at a speed of 80 km/h.
It stops as we pass the 101 exit sign just as the hill begins to level out.
A total climb of 2.2 kilometres.
The speed limit on this road is 80 km/h.
So we can take it up to 80 and hold it there in top gear.
We're coming to the start of the climb. We'll start the time at this bridge.
We're off!
Plenty of power there. I may even be tempted to take a split.
Nicely in the green band. Volvo was one of the first truck manufacturers
to tell drivers that there was a green band to go for.
It says in there the magic word, 'economy'.
There's plenty of life in the old girl.
This is hill climbing. It reminds me of what it was like in the olden days.
I'm impressed by the acceleration in this engine. It's done a million miles,
but it's very lively.
We'll take our end time at this sign.
We're coming up to...
2 minutes, 58 seconds. Very respectable for a 25-year-old.
25 years of progress - 280 more horsepower.
Before we attack the hill with this beast,
I just want to feel what 25 years of truck engineering has achieved.
Finally, I've managed to get into the FH16 750.
You certainly notice that you're in a modern, state-of-the-art truck.
-Are you missing the gear-changing? -Frankly, no.
The nice thing about I-Shift is that the throttle is very sensitive to your foot.
You're always making sure you're in the right gear, and driving for economy.
You don't have to put your foot down hard on I-Shift for it to understand.
That makes it an absolute pleasure to drive.
Okay. Jeff, here's our timing bridge.
We'll now see the difference between 25 years - past and present.
-I'm ready with the stopwatch, Brian. -Away we go.
I'm accelerating up the hill. I'm going to be on the limiter.
That's a pretty impressive performance.
-It's a bit different from the F16 470. -It is.
We're overtaking a few trucks, including a Volvo 420,
although I suspect he has a bit more weight than us. Maybe 50, 60 tons?
He's running at 60 tons.
To me, the most impressive thing about the current 16-litre engine in the FH16
is not that it's got 60 % more power or that it's got 76 % more torque.
It's that it's cleaner, greener and leaner than ever before.
Volvo's diesel engineers have done a good job with regard to the environment.
That's the top of the hill climb. We'll stop the watch. 1 minute, 57 seconds.
Now that's impressive.
It brought back some fantastic memories for me, seeing the old and the new.
Jeffrey, thank you for the ultimate heritage haulage challenge.
It reminded me how far we've come in 25 years of Volvo's 16-litre engine.
Thank you very much for that. It's been a real blast.
It's been a pleasure. Next time, we have a really interesting challenge for you.
That sounds interesting... Join me next time on 'Brian's Truck Report'.
Until then: Enjoy your truck driving!