After nearly five years and $1.5 billion in development, the new heavy-duty Detroit Diesel DD15 engine was unveiled Oct. 19 at the company’s plant in Redford, Mich. The six-cylinder, inline DD15 displaces 14.8 liters and uses a new Amplified Common Rail System, as well as innovative turbo compounding technology, the company says.
The engine is the first in a series of new heavy-duty engines from Detroit Diesel that eventually will cover three displacement categories: 12.8 liters, 14.8 liters and 15.6 liters. The market launch of the DD15 in the Freightliner Cascadia will take place in the second quarter of 2008, followed by the Freightliner Century S/T and Columbia models and the Sterling Set-Back L-Line and A-Line.
The DD15 is part of the new heavy-duty engine platform that ultimately will be manufactured by Daimler Trucks in Germany, Japan and the United States. In time, engines sharing this design will be available in all Daimler Trucks heavy-duty models around the world, including Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star as well as Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi Fuso trucks. The new platform eventually will replace four distinct engine series used globally by Daimler Trucks. The platform features 90 percent globally shared parts, and engine development and production are being managed internationally.
The DD15 will be available from 455 to 560 hp and 1,550 to 1,850 lb.-ft. of torque, including dual torque ratings for special applications. The DD15 will be produced at the Redford, Mich., plant, which has been completely refurbished and retooled at a cost of $275 million, the company says.
“The DD15 is a best-in-class engine that embodies what the Detroit Diesel brand is all about: performance and efficiency,” says Chris Patterson, president and chief executive officer of Freightliner LLC, soon to be renamed Daimler Trucks North America LLC.
The DD15 uses exhaust gas recirculation and a diesel particulate filter to meet the 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards. It will meet the 2010 standards with the addition of a downstream selective catalytic reduction device. “Instead of revamping one of our current engines to comply with EPA standards, we designed a brand-new platform that takes all of the emissions requirements into account,” says Jim Gray, Detroit Diesel program director for the DD15.
The new engine platform includes four valves per cylinder, two overhead camshafts, a uniquely efficient fuel injection system, turbo compounding technology and fully electronic engine management. The DD15 exhibits up to 75 percent better torque response than the current Series 60 engine, the company says. Torque response is measured by comparing relative times required to reach peak torque levels on demand.
