Navistar’s joint venture announced last year with Volkswagen is expected to produce powertrain options in the years ahead, but for now the Lisle, Ill., truck maker is content to to tackle that work on its own.
The company on Monday at the Technology and Maintenance Council’s Annual Meeting in Nashville launched its new 12.4-liter engine, the International A26 – the fruit of an initiative called Project Alpha, which brought together a new team of the industry’s foremost powertrain engineers and emphasized simplicity over complexity.
“This engine is as simple as a modern diesel engine can be,” adds Joao Silva, A26’s chief engineer.
Lee Chan, Navistar’s chief engineer for controls and software, says the team took a “clean slate approach,” on the inline six cylinder engine, adding, “the collaborative one-team approach, I think, was critical for this product.”
Using only proven components engineered to maximize uptime, the end result is the quietest, most efficient engine in International’s on-highway lineup. At 2,299 pounds, the A26 is the lightest engine in its class and is 55 pounds lighter than the N13 engine it will replace in International’s order book at the end of the year.
The team’s lightweight design includes the use of a compacted graphite iron crankcase – a North American first for a Class 7-8 truck – shot peened aluminum flywheel housing, composite valve covers and a hollow assembled camshaft that features tool-grade steel lobes for added durability.
Built from the MAN D26 engine crankcase, the engine outputs up to 475 HP and 1750 lb.-ft. of torque.
