As a competitive race we want to see what we can do to beat the last record set in almost every way. We have records for the most of a specific food eaten and we have records for speed in a variety of athletic events along with records for our machines and how they can perform. Just look at how we idolize our athletes, especially in the US, and you can see that we want to always have the fastest, the most and the best. Engineers and car designers love t0 be the athletes of their world to create the fastest vehicles for us to admire.
Recently we had a speed record set that broke a previous speed record. This speed record is that of a truck. Not just any truck either, this truck appears to be a semi-truck that could pull massive amounts of payload if needed to haul whatever is needed to the destination and since this big beast is now the fastest in the world it also happens to be the one that could do a run in record times as well. This is certainly the truck I’d want for deliveries, although I would question the condition of the cargo once the destination is reached.
The truck is name the Iron Knight and it’s been made by Volvo. That may seem like an oxymoron for the fastest truck to be one that’s made by the company that prides itself on a reputation of safety, but that’s certainly the case with this truck. The Iron Knight comes at you with 2,400 horsepower and a massive amount of torque (6000 Nm). This big beast weighs in at 4.5 tons which means it has a power ratio of 0.5 horsepower/kg to allow for extreme speeds in this brute. The engine is mid mounted and is a modified D13 unit that uses water cooling and four turbochargers. The transmission is an I-Shift Dual Clutch that’s been modified to ensure it wouldn’t lose any power during shifting at high speeds.
As for electronics, these have been minimized to keep the weight down and the software was updated to allow the high performance of the vehicle. The build of the truck makes for a more aerodynamic cab that has been made to optimize the power of the truck and create the fastest speed possible for the drive.
The Iron Knight reaches a top speed of 276 km/h during the run and reached an average speed of 169 km/h in a time of 21/29 seconds to set the new international speed record for the 1,000 meter run from a stopped position. This truck also set a new record for the 500 meter run at an average speed of 131.29 km/h and a time of 13.71 seconds. You should check out this video and see the Iron Knight in action on the track. This is a great way for you to enjoy the speed of a great truck that set a new record, but the only question you might have is when is the next truck going to come along and beat this record?
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