The Swedish-based manufacturer Volvo says one of its trucks has broken two world speed records.
The truck reached a top speed of 276 kilometers an hour during recent tests. The Chinese-owned carmaker carried out the tests on an airplane runway in Sweden.
The truck, called “Iron Knight,” broke speed records for distances of 500 and 1,000 meters, according to Volvo. The driver was former European Truck Racing Champion Boije Ovebrink.
The company said the truck covered 500 meters in 13.7 seconds. It traveled one kilometer in 21.29 seconds.
The records are still unofficial while they are reviewed by the international motor sport association FIA. The old record for one kilometer was set in 2012 by Volvo’s Mean Green truck.
The vehicle’s diesel engine is based on Volvo’s normal design for tractor-trailer trucks. But it was modified to increase the usual power and performance.
The truck was also designed to reduce wind resistance to increase speed and reduce fuel use.
Nigel Atterbury is a senior designer for Volvo Trucks.
“The Iron Knight is basically a truck where we said to our designers, ‘Think out of the box.' And that's exactly what they did.”
Volvo said the main goal in building the speedy truck was to show off the company’s two-part clutch system. The truck’s transmission was made to give the driver smoother control when changing gears. This helps the truck perform better under extreme conditions, such as carrying a heavy load up a steep hill.
Words in This Story
runway –n. a long road used by airplanes to start out or land
horsepower – n. unit of measurement for engine power
diesel – n. type of engine that uses diesel fuel
modify – v. make changes to improve something
clutch – n. piece of equipment in a vehicle that allows the driver to change gears
transmission – n. part of a vehicle that transfers power from the engine to the wheels
gears – n. used by a car’s transmission to control different speeds of the engine