In 2012, Volvo Trucks will begin production of its most powerful truck yet – the 750hp Volvo FH16.
The year marks exactly 25 years since Volvo first launched its 16-litre engine back in 1987, so to find out what has really changed in that time, British truck journalist Brian Weatherley put the original Volvo 470hp F16 head-to-head with the new Volvo FH16-750 in a heritage haulage challenge.
Both trucks were driven a distance of 2,200 metres on a seven per cent gradient, up one of Sweden’s toughest ascents – known as the Gothenburg hill located just outside Jönköping.
For Brian, driving the Volvo F16-470 again, after so many years, brought back a great many memories and served as a reminder of how advanced the original 16-litre was when it was first released.
However, the relative ease with which the Volvo FH16-750 powered up the Gothenburg hill really hit home and showed just how much progress has been made since then.
