Spotlight: Scania V8

The unmistakable, guttural growl of a Scania V8 as it belts up the road pulling a trailer set with ease.

It’s a sound that the transport world has come to love, representing a unique blend of European refinement and raw power. Incredibly, you can still buy one today, some 70-odd years after it burst onto the scene.

While the industry has shifted almost exclusively to using the inline-six configuration, the thumping Scania V8 remains a defiant and beloved reminder of times past. It’s hard to imagine now, but there was once a time when Cummins V12s, Mack V8s, and two-stroke Detroit Diesel screamers (V6, V8 – you name it, they did it) ruled the roads.

The Scania V8 is the last of the exciting big banger engines, and we love it. It’s survived recessions, oil crises, ever-tightening emissions regulations and through it all has remained a highway king.

Let’s look at how a 1960s engineering gamble became the ultimate power move and a sound that’s permanently burned into the memories (and ears) of Australian truckies. This is how the mighty Scania V8 came to be.

The legend was born in the mid-1960s when Scania’s engineers, led by the visionary Bengt Gadefelt, realised that the coming decades would demand a level of power that existing straight-six engines simply couldn’t deliver. At the time, 250hp was the norm, but Scania had its sights set on achieving an output of 350hp to improve the driveability of its trucks as freight demands increased.

The solution was a 14.2-litre 90-degree eight-cylinder engine, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1969. It was a revolutionary piece of kit: compact enough to fit under the same cab as a smaller inline engine – meaning Scania didn't have to redesign its entire chassis to accommodate the extra muscle – and gruntier than anything that came before it.

When it debuted, the 350hp output made it the most powerful diesel engine in Europe, instantly positioning Scania as the go-to brand for heavy-haulage and long-distance operations.

While born in Sweden, the Scania V8 found a spiritual second home in Australia. Our unique demands such as, vast distances, extreme heat, and massive combination weights, provided the ultimate proving ground for Gadefelt’s creation. Aussie operators quickly learned that while the V8 carried a premium price tag, it paid for itself in productivity… and offered an engine note that invoked a smile with every start.

The perk of a large-capacity V8 is smooth torque delivery and unlike higher-revving American engines that were common on the road train scene, the Scania V8 made peak torque as low as 1000rpm. The low-revving, high-torque characteristics allowed drivers to maintain speed on inclines with fewer gear changes, ultimately getting the job done with less hassle.

From the rugged logging tracks of Gippsland to the iron-rich bulldust of the Pilbara, the V8 became the weapon of choice for those who needed a truck that wouldn't just do the job but would do it with ease.

The Swedish powerhouse quickly became a local legend.

Over the years, the Scania V8 has undergone a series of significant evolutions to stay ahead of both the competition and environmental regulations, proving that the eight-cylinders can indeed remain clean.

In 2000, the original 14-litre platform made way for an all-new 15.6-litre (commonly referred to as 16 litres) engine, designed to meet the tougher Euro 3 standards while pushing power even higher.

By 2005, the V8 was even cleaner and was producing as much as 620hp, keeping it at the pointy end of the power stakes while still offering Euro 5 level efficiency.

This was followed by the introduction of the 16.4-litre platform in 2010, which utilised Scania’s modular engine design to share components with its smaller siblings while delivering an incredible, and unprecedented, 730hp and 3500Nm of torque.

In 2013, the transition into the Euro 6 era saw the launch of Scania’s Streamline truck range, and with it updated V8 engines. These were available in 520hp, 580hp, and 730hp guise, but they were cleaner than ever before.

In fact, since 2015 every V8 produced has been renewable diesel (HVO) compatible and several models are suitable for biodiesel too.

Scania made a bold return to the Brisbane Truck Show in 2025, bringing three of its most popular prime movers while reminding the industry that the mighty V8 is still alive and ready to sing its song into the Euro 6 future.

Front and centre on the Scania stand was its flagship 770 S model, powered by the brand’s revered 16.4-litre V8 and ready for the heaviest of applications with 770hp on tap. It was, unsurprisingly, the only V8 in the building!

The big 770 S was proof the mighty Scania V8 still draws a crowd – even in a changing world – as punters flocked to see the big banger in person. There’s truly no substitute for the V8’s combination of power, efficiency, and prestige.

I think we can all agree on one thing, too… nothing sings quite like a Scania V8.

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