Firing on all six cylinders - JCB’s new diesel

JCB has announced its entry into the 6 cylinder diesel engine arena with the launch of the JCB Dieselmax 672, the result of a £45 million development programme. To date, the company has produced more than 250,000 4 cylinder units since production began and the new engine is the next logical step in its engine development programme. It will be produced on a dedicated line at the JCB Power System’s facility in Derbyshire.

The Dieselmax 672 is based on its 4.8 litre four cylinder engine, providing a high commonality of parts, and will be available in four ratings – 140kW (188 hp), 165 kW (221 hp), 190 kW (255 hp) and 225 kW (302 hp), with a maximum torque of 1,200 Nm. According to JCB, the new engine will offer a substantially saving in fuel consumption of up to 8% over engines previously used in its JS excavator range. It is the result of a two year development programme and already has undergone more than 50,000 hours of testing, much of which was done in the field

It initially will be available as a Tier 2, Stage II unit for machines being sold into less regulated parts of the world, such as Russia, Brazil and China, with the first to see the new engine being the JS330 and JS360 tracked excavators. Other machines will be offered with the JCB engine option as time progresses.

According to Tim Burnhope, innovation and product development officer, a Tier 4 final/Stage IV engine should be available by mid-2015. Of note is the fact that JCB’s Ecomax engines meet the current engine emission requirements without the use of a diesel particulate filter or selective catalytic reduction. Compliance is achieved through the use of exhaust gas recirculation, a variable geometry turbocharger, common rail fuel injection and a highly efficient combustion process.

JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said in statement: “In a relatively short space of time we have become a major producer of engines and today more than 70% of JCB’s machines are powered by the engines we manufacture. The move into 6 cylinder engine production is a historic moment for our business and a natural step to take and we look forward to setting new standards in performance and fuel efficiency.”