Nissan
has announced it will offer a newly-developed Cummins V8 turbo diesel in its
next generation full-size Titan pickup.
Now in the latter stages of
development and testing, the available Cummins 5-litre V8 Turbo Diesel engine
has been “optimized for the next generation Titan” as a result of the
partnership between Cummins and Nissan. Cummins also is developing a version of
the engine for its commercial vehicle customers.
The big question everyone
is asking is: “Will the new V8 diesel carry the latest in cylinder block
technology, namely a vee block cast in compacted graphite iron (CGI)?
For over eight years the
bar room chatter amongst North America diesel engineers is how long before
Cummins follows the lead of European diesel engine makers and adopts CGI for
its vee diesel blocks. Engineers know that behind the scenes Cummins engineers
have been working away for years at implementing CGI technology in its diesels.
It even won a US Department of Energy contract to develop and optimise high
performance vee diesels.
And Cummins inc. has constructed
a new engine plant that has stood ready for the green light, waiting for someone to
push the button. But the “right” customer has proved most evasive.
Nissan has long been seen
as the “right” customer; Chrysler has been another. Nissan, as ever, has been inscrutable,
reluctant to give anything away. Equally inscrutable is a foundry which is keeping
a tight lid on strategic market information. But now it looks as though Nissan’s
Titan will be the first vehicle to carry a Cummins engine with a CGI block.
Of course, journalists are
the last to know these things, so at the moment no one journalist can be sure.
But in a parallel statement with Nissan, Cummins said: “The Cummins 5.0L V8
Turbo Diesel will be built in America's manufacturing heartland at the Columbus
Engine Plant, in Columbus, Indiana, Cummins headquarters. This plant has the
latest technological innovations to continue the 90-plus year tradition of building
the highest quality Cummins engines.”
So, does “the latest
technological innovations” equate to CGI? One can only assume at this stage
that it does.
“We
have done our homework on the next-generation Titan. Truck owners told us there’s
a demand for the performance and torque of a diesel in a capable truck that doesn’t
require the jump up to a heavy-duty commercial pickup,” said Fred Diaz, divisional
vice president, Nissan Sales & Marketing, Service & Parts, Nissan North
Americahttp://blogs.cars.com/files/2014-nissan-cummins-release-8-20-13-1.pdf. “There is no question that the new Titan will turn heads, and with the
available Cummins 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel, we expect to win new fans and attract buyers
looking for this unique configuration.”
This could be another clue.
The terminology CGI could be enough to turn heads. Ford uses CGI for the vee
blocks of its diesels made in Chihuahua, Mexico, and Chrysler has opted for VM Motori’s
vee diesels with CGI blocks in some vehicles in its Ram 1500 product line.
If, and it is a big if at
this stage, Cummins and Nissan do opt for a CGI vee diesel block, then this is
good news for SinterCast process control technology which has proved the
pioneering technology that has enabled leading foundries to produce the finest high-strength
cast iron automotive products today.
Nissan has previously
announced the next-generation Titan will add powertrain options and cab-and-box
configurations to broaden the appeal of the new truck when it comes to market.
“We are very excited to
partner with Nissan on the introduction of the Cummins 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel to
the North American pickup truck market,” said Dave Crompton, vice president,
Cummins Engine Business. “This new engine will offer the right balance of
power, performance and fuel economy while delivering the dependability that
customers expect of a Cummins engine. This will be a great package.”
With a torque rating in the
mid-500s (lbft) and more than 300 bhp, the Cummins 5-litre V8 Turbo Diesel will
provide light truck customers the combination of towing capacity and mileage
that is expected in the highly-competitive North American truck marketplace.
The Titan program is being
led by teams in Nissan Americas’ headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, while
engineering and testing is performed by Nissan Technical Center North America
in Farmington Hills, Michigan and Stanfield, Arizona. as well as Nissan’s
global engineering centre. Design is being led by Nissan Design America in La
Jolla, California.
Like the current model, the
next-generation Titan will be built at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi vehicle
assembly plant and its gasoline engines cast, forged and assembled at Nissan’s
Decherd, Tennessee powertrain plant.
For competitive reasons,
Nissan is not announcing launch dates at this stage in the truck’s development,
however engineering prototype trucks powered by the Cummins engine are
currently undergoing extensive on-public-highway performance and durability
testing.
Further information on the
upcoming Titan truck and Cummins engine will be released at a later date, said
Nissan in its statement.
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