SCANIA’S GREAT EIGHT
Every now and then, something special comes along. It doesn’t matter what it is. It can be anything. For whatever reason or reasons, it just comes together in a way which makes it, well, special. A cut above. A bit better. A good thing. Ahead of the pack.
Something that doesn’t just do one or two things well, but does most things better than most.
Even so, there’s a danger in calling something ‘special’ because so much depends on individual opinion. After all, one person’s delight is quite easily another person’s derision and, let’s face it, when it comes to trucks, opinions can be poles apart.
However, after a few days in Scania’s R770 flagship, it would almost certainly be a severely jaundiced and irrevocably riveted view that failed to acknowledge or even comprehend something altogether special about this Swedish package.
It’s not just the muscle and mountain-munching 3,700Nm (2,730lb-ft) of torque bulging out of the burly 16.4-litre V8, or the way Scania’s much evolved 14-speed overdrive (0.8:1) automated shifter pours such potent performance so smoothly and efficiently through a tall 3.07:1 rear tandem. Nor is it just the way the highly effective retarder works so compatibly with the software ‘smarts’ of the various cruise control and safety functions, or the exceptional road handling of the airbag front axle and electro-hydraulic steering system. It’s not even the remarkable ride and comfort inside a stylish and superbly built cab.
Quite simply, what makes the R770 so special is the way all these things come together to create a truck which, in this estimation, is to date the pinnacle of Scania’s achievements and, in any cab-over comparison, sets a standard of the highest level.
Again, other opinions may see it differently, and time
