06.06.2013

JCB launches six cylinder engine

JCB has launched its new six cylinder engine the 7.2 litre Dieselmax 672 following an investment of around £45 million.

Based on its successful four-cylinder 4.8-litre Dieselmax engine the 672 has a high degree of parts commonality. The Dieselmax engine features electronic control, Delphi common rail fuel injection and fixed geometry turbocharging.
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JCB launched its new six cylinder engine the 7.2 litre Dieselmax 672 following an investment of about £45 million.

Initially the 672 will be produced to meet Stage II emissions standards for markets including Russia, Brazil and China. The engine will be seen first in JCB’s JS360 crawler excavator for those territories, but will be used in additional machines as time progresses.

The six-cylinder engine will be offered with ratings of 140kW (188hp), 165kW (221hp), 190kW (255hp) and with a maximum output of 225kW (302hp). Maximum torque is 1,200Nm. JCB says it has managed to produce an incredibly efficient engine promising up to an eight percent increase in fuel efficiency compared to previous engines in the JS excavator line.

The six-cylinder engines will be built on a dedicated line at JCB Power Systems’ purpose-built facility in Foston, Derbyshire, UK.

In development for more than two years, the engines have already completed more than 50,000 hours of testing, 30,000 of which have been in machines working in the field. The engines will also be offered as part of the company’s OEM product line, for use in non-JCB machinery.

In just over eight years JCB has gone from a new entrant to engine manufacturing to a major global producer. The first engine rolled off the production line in the UK in November 2004 and since then production has also extended to JCB India’s HQ at Ballabgarh, where the first engine was manufactured in 2011. To date more than 250,000 engines have been produced globally.

The introduction of the new 6 cylinder engine represents an investment of around £45 million and by the time it goes into full production will have created more than 50 new jobs.

JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said: “More than 70 percent of JCB’s machines are powered by the engines we manufacture. The move into six 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.”