The world’s fastest semi; this statement could put the fear of God in you, especially if you have watched movies like Duel, Joy Ride, and Joy Ride II. To have one fast semi behind you is the beginning of a perfect horror movie, right?
Of course, the Iron Knight isn’t a rusted and menacing Peterbilt, rather, it’s a sparkling new Volvo semi, built by a company that knows its trucks and loves to have fun with them, and so made a one-off marvel.
Like the 2012 Mean Green hybrid truck that became the fastest semi-truck in the world with a top speed of 147mph. Of course, Volvo is the same company that made a four-year drive one of its dump trucks, remotely, of course. And it's also the same truck maker that raced one of its Volvo FH trucks against a hypercar Koenigsegg One.
When it comes to Volvo and its trucks, the sky is definitely not the limit, its space. This is why no one is surprised that the world's newest fastest semi is also from Volvo because Volvo trucks do not compete with the competition, they simply go against themselves. Of course, there are plenty of other cool semi-trucks most of us may not even have heard about.
The Iron Knight Specs
The Iron Knight bears a 13-liter mid-mounted engine that revs out a bone-obliterating 2,400 horses and a just kill-us-already 4,425 ft-lb of torque. The use of our exaggerated adjectives should have told you that even in semis, these are some very impressive output figures.
This custom-made semi from Volvo managed to do 500 meters in 13.710 seconds, and 1,000 meters at 21.290 seconds, at average speeds of 81.58 mph and 105 mph, respectively. The top speed was an insane 171 mph. It's like death barrelling down on the road in a freight train. Unstoppable. Unavoidable. This is why it was raced in a closed-off tarmac to make sure it ran unhindered because big rigs and semi-trucks are simply a different breed.
The Iron Knight is the world’s fastest semi-truck, period. And a thing of beauty as well. But our question is, how did this truck manage this kind of speed?
The Wonderful Insides Of The Iron Knight
The Iron Knight is not just fast in the long run, it can hit 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds. That’s like supercar abilities, only in a truck that could drive over any supercar and turn it into roadkill. To make the Iron Knight several steps over and above other trucks, Volvo concentrated on improving the speed and strength of the new I-shift Dual Clutch transmission. The one used in Iron Knight was stock except for one important thing, it was reinforced to be able to bear the phenomenal power that the 13-liter engine made.
The I-Shift dual-clutch runs on two separate gear trains, one for odd-numbered gears and one for the even-numbered ones, helping in seamless gear changes. In turn, this helps in avoiding any loss of speed and letting the truck go as fast as it can. The new records set by the Volvo Iron Knight are also in review by the FIA— the international motorsport association for certification and requisite paperwork.
Everything else, or at least almost everything else in this truck was custom-built, piece by piece to be able to withstand the sheer force generated and faced by the Iron Knight. This is not a truck meant for mass production unless you plan to bring about the end of the world, this was simply a one-off semi made by Volvo to show off its prowess and its fun side.
And we appreciate it very much, enough to already be looking forward to the next one and what it may be able to do. Go to the moon and back, perhaps. Flights of fancy, sure, but what if Volvo and Tesla came together for a collaboration that could truly blow our minds? Although, Volvo has already unleashed an electric semi.
Volvo’s Fun-Stunt History
We already mentioned Volvo’s Mean Green, and even before was the Wild Viking which was a 1,600-horsepower semi. Other than letting a four-year-old remotely drive one of its dump trucks to show safety prowess and racing against a Koenigsegg because why not and YOLO, Volvo trucks have entertained us even more.
One such video was of Magnus Samuelsson, who was the titleholder of the World’s Strongest Man and towed a 750-ton stock truck. Then came Charlie, the hamster, who steered a truck up a quarry road, with no fear of the curves. And finally, there was Jean-Claude Van Damme who performed his trademark split between two moving, reversing Volvos, his feet resting on the rearview mirror.
Why? Because it's Volvo! And we can’t wait to see what they and their trucks do next? How about an Iron Man and Iron Knight collaboration? Marvel, are you feeling us?
Sources: Motor1, NationalPublicRadio