Cursor 13 NG methane engine unveiled

© CNH IndustrialNot that it really matters, but aside from being powerful and clean, the Cursor 13 is one good-looking piece of machinery

The unit was first presented during the FPT Tech Day conference held on October 30, 2017. It's a turbocharged inline six, displacing 12,9 l and generating 460 PS of power at 1800 RPM and 2000 Nm of torque at 1100 RPM. Unlike Volvo's engines offering similar parameters, which are technically diesel-gas units using minuscule portions of diesel fuel just to initiate the combustion process, the Cursor 13 is a spark-ignited Otto-cycle engine. Methane is its sole fuel, applied to combustion chambers via newly designed injectors (two per cylinder).

Iveco declares the engine's longevity is one million km, with maintenance intervals of 90 thousand km. The Cursor 13 has been designed with long-distance driving and methane fuel in mind and, incidentally, it's the most powerful unit on the market today that runs on natural gas only. The exhaust manifold is made of Ni-resist high-nickel cast iron, while the turbocharger features a cast steel body and liquid-cooled bearings. The engine head is made of cast iron including CGI (Compacted Graphite Iron), which is lighter than conventional cast iron, all the while offering better mechanical properties, higher heat conductivity and improved vibration damping.

The Cursor 13 also features several patented technological solutions. Among them are: a system that controls the engine in terms of knock combustion and makes it possible to maintain performance regardless of fuel quality, while also protecting the catalytic converter from damage and another system that controls the air-fuel mixture composition during gear shifting. This provides torque transmission fluency between the engine and the AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) gearbox.

© CNH Industrial Not disturbing the nature - thanks to the Cursor 13 engine, the Iveco Stralis NP 460 is quiet and emits very little pollutants

As far as running costs are concerned, Iveco claims vehicles featuring the Cursor 13 unit cut fuel bills by as much as 40% compared to diesel-powered counterparts. The first such vehicle is the aforementioned Iveco Stralis NP 460, which – when equipped with two LNG tanks, can cover up to 1600 km without refueling. The truck's environmental record is outstanding: it cuts particulate matter emissions by 99%, nitrogen oxides by 60% (compared to diesel) and generates noise that does not exceed 71 dB, an exceptionally low figure for a vehicle of this class. Furthermore, when fueled with renewable biogas, the Stralis NP 460 slashes carbon dioxide emissions by a staggering 95%. The tractor is already available to order.