The KamAZ-4911 «Extreme» is KamAZ’s rally-raid truck, a four-wheel-drive machine built for the Dakar and the Silk Way Rally. Under its cab-over body sits a 17.2-litre V8 turbodiesel of 750 hp, coupled to a sixteen-speed gearbox.
KamAZ-4911 Extreme at a glance
| Maker | KamAZ, Naberezhnye Chelny |
|---|---|
| Type | rally-raid racing truck |
| Events | Dakar Rally, Silk Way Rally |
| Layout | 4×4, cab over the engine |
| Length × width × height | 7,300 × 2,550 × 3,590 mm |
| Wheelbase | 4,200 mm |
| Kerb weight | 10,300 kg |
| Gross weight | 11,500 kg |
| Engine | YaMZ-7E846, 17.241 l V8 turbodiesel |
| Power | 552 kW (750 hp) at 2,500 rpm |
| Torque | 2,700 Nm at 1,500 rpm |
| Gearbox | sixteen-speed manual |
| Tyres | 425/85 R21 with pressure regulation |
| Top speed | 165 km/h |
| Fuel consumption | 100 l/100 km off-road at 120 km/h |
The article is based on one source, the Russian Wikipedia page on the KamAZ-4911, which gives no history of the model’s development.
History of the KamAZ-4911 Extreme
The 4911 is not a production lorry but a competition machine built by KamAZ for rally raids. The Russian Wikipedia lists it as a sports truck of the plant and names the Dakar Rally and the Silk Way Rally as its events; it gives no account of when development began or how many were built, so the written record of the model is mostly technical.
The layout follows the rally-truck formula: a cab-over body on a 4,200 mm wheelbase, four driven wheels with single 425/85 R21 tyres that can be inflated and deflated on the move, and a mass kept as low as possible. The truck is 7,300 mm long, 2,550 mm wide and 3,590 mm high, weighs 10,300 kg empty and has a gross weight of 11,500 kg. It can climb a 36 per cent gradient and turns in 11.3 m, figures that matter more on a special stage than on a motorway.
The engine is the outstanding part of the specification. The YaMZ-7E846 is a V8 turbodiesel of 17.241 litres that produces 552 kW, or 750 hp, at 2,500 rpm and 2,700 Nm of torque at 1,500 rpm; the power reaches the wheels through a sixteen-speed manual gearbox. The result is a top speed of 165 km/h and a thirst of 100 litres per 100 km when running fully loaded across country at 120 km/h. The 4911 also became a small piece of popular culture: KamAZ-master appeared with its trucks in a television advertisement for Baltimore ketchup that started on Russian federal channels in March 2012, and 1:43 scale models were made by the Elecon works in Kazan and by the French firm Eligor.
Design and features
- 750 hp V8: a 17.241-litre YaMZ turbodiesel with 2,700 Nm of torque.
- Sixteen speeds: a manual gearbox matched to the narrow power band of a racing diesel.
- Desert running gear: 4×4 with single 425/85 R21 tyres and pressure regulation.
- Speed: 165 km/h flat out, with a 36 per cent grade capability.
- Rally pedigree: built for the Dakar and the Silk Way Rally.
KamAZ-4911 Extreme versions
- KamAZ-4911 Extreme: the rally truck described here.
- KamAZ-master team trucks: the racing stable in which the type competed in 2012.
- Scale models: 1:43 miniatures by Elecon of Kazan and Eligor of France.
The 4911 shares its cab-over layout with the production KamAZ-5320, and the Dakar-derived KamAZ-4326-9 is the other racing KamAZ on this site. More trucks are in the KamAZ collection.
Sources
- КАМАЗ-4911, Russian Wikipedia: specifications, events, advertising
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