Volvo’s Iron Knight breaks two speed records

A Swedish airfield has hosted a successful record-breaking attempt from Volvo Trucks

 

Volvo Trucks says its custom-creation The Iron Knight is the world’s fastest truck after breaking two speed records overnight.

From a standing start, the truck broke the existing international records for the 500m and 1,000m distances at a closed-off test track in the north of the company’s home country Sweden.

Driven by Boije Ovebrink, The Iron Knight reached an average speed of 169km/h in the 1km trial, besting the distance in 21.29 seconds.

For the shorter record, the custom truck averaged 131.29km/h over the 500m, completing it in 13.71 seconds.

Monitored by the international motor sport association, the FIA, the attempts were made at the former airfield, the Skellefteå Drive Center.

The truck was tasked to make two runs, one in each direction, and the average speeds and times recorded were calculated.

Speaking  after the runs, Ovebrink, who has over 30 years of experience racing trucks and cars and has previously beaten five speed records, says the truck “can be summarised in one single word: perfection.”

“It’s beautiful to look at and is an unparalleled powerhouse when you floor the accelerator,” he says.

“This is the third record-breaking truck I’ve driven, and I can’t think of a better follow-up to Wild Viking and Mean Green.”

Two other custom builds from Volvo, The Wild Viking broke the 1km ‘standing-start’ record in 2007 and the Mean Green broke the 1km ‘flying-start’ category in 2012 with an average speed of 236.6km/h.

 

 

Using the record attempt to promote the I-Shift Dual Clutch, one of the standard pieces of equipment used in The Iron Knight and which features in the FH series of trucks, Volvo president and CEO Claes Nilsson says the records show that the “transmission has enormous potential and that it does not let you down under extreme conditions.”

“The fact that the world record-breaker uses the very same gearbox that is found in our series-built FH trucks is something that we’re really proud of,” he says.

Besides the drivetrain, The Iron Knight is a custom truck.

Weighing 4.5-tonne, it has a modified D13 engine that produces 2,400hp and 6,000Nm of torque thanks to a water-cooled intercooler and four turbochargers.

That combination gives it a power-to-weight ratio above 0.5hp/kg.

 

 

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