Scania V8 celebrates 50 years

Scania Australia is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the introduction of its V8 engine with a limited edition of 50 commemorative trucks.

The trucks will be based on the R 650 V8 6x4 prime mover and finished in Ghost White paint with gold V8 detailing.

All will feature a premium leather-lined cab and will arrive in Australia for delivery early in 2020.

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“The Scania 50th Anniversary Edition recognises the huge role the V8 engine has played in the consistent growth of Scania,” said Dean Dal Santo, Director of Truck Sales for Scania Australia.

“Scania is the sole supplier of V8 engines for the heavy vehicle market in Australia and our V8 range starts at 520hp – a figure that would have been all-but unfathomable when the initial 350hp V8 was launched –  and reaches as high as the flagship 730hp V8, which is the most powerful on-highway truck you can buy in Australia, complete with 3500Nm of torque,” he says.

“The special edition R 650 has been specified with Australian customers in mind and will provide an eye-catching hero to any fleet.”

The Scania 50th Anniversary Edition is finished in Ghost White Paint with contrasting Ebony Black gloss chassis and trim highlights, Ebony Black gloss wheels, ‘50-year’ V8 stripes, V8 decals and hubcaps.

Inside the cab, a numbered plaque identifies the vehicle as being an anniversary special, while premium black leather upholstery with red stitching and heated seats, a flat bottomed red-stitched V8 steering wheel, electric glass roof hatch, electrically-adjustable roof deflector, factory cab cooler integrated into the cab ventilation system and a premium sound system with upgraded speakers and sub woofers completes the special equipment list.

The 650hp engine is one of the latest high-technology engines Scania has introduced with the New Truck Generation. In addition to producing peak torque of 3300Nm (300Nm more than the 620hp version), the new generation 650hp is Euro 6 compliant and delivers improved fuel efficiency.

The new generation 16.4-litre V8 family is built on many of the successful features sourced from previous generation V8 engines: out of approximately 650 components that make up the entire engine, 200 are completely new.

Trucks powered by the V8 engine account for around half of the more than 1000 Scania trucks sold in Australia each year, making Australia one of the more important markets for the V8 range. Italy and Norway, thanks to their mountainous terrain, are the biggest customers for Scania V8s overall.

Scania says that order books for the Scania 50th Anniversary editions are now open.