Scania has built V8 engines since 1914, when the company’s Danish subsidiary developed one of the first V8 engines in the world. The layout later became the signature engine of Scania’s heaviest trucks, and it remains the top engine of the range today.
Scania V8 at a glance
| First V8 | 1914, Danish factory in Copenhagen |
|---|---|
| Made by | Scania-Vabis |
| Claim | one of the first V8 engines in the world |
| Danish factory | Frederiksberg, Copenhagen |
| Danish operation closed | 1921 |
| Company today | Scania AB, Södertälje, Sweden |
| Owner | Traton, part of the Volkswagen Group |
| Products | heavy trucks, buses and engines |
There is no separate Wikipedia article on the Scania V8 engine; this page uses the material on it and on the company in the article on Scania AB. based on one source
History of the Scania V8
The first Scania V8
Towards the end of 1913 Scania-Vabis established a subsidiary in Denmark, and in 1914 its Frederiksberg factory in Copenhagen built the first Danish-built Scania-Vabis car, a four-seater Phaeton. That year the factory also produced Denmark’s first Scania-Vabis truck, and after that it developed a V8 engine, one of the first in the world. The Danish operation sold around 175 trucks and 75 cars before it was closed down in 1921.
The company behind it
Scania-Vabis itself had been formed in 1911 by the merger of the Södertälje firm Vabis, a railway carriage maker founded in 1891, and the Malmö bicycle manufacturer Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania, founded in 1900. Engine development and the production of light vehicles were based in Södertälje, while trucks were built in Malmö, and the company’s griffin logo came from the coat of arms of the province of Scania.
Scania today
Scania AB is now a Swedish manufacturer of heavy trucks, buses and engines headquartered in Södertälje. The company develops commercial vehicles for long-distance haulage, construction and regional distribution, as well as engines and power solutions for marine and industrial applications. It is a subsidiary of Traton, part of the Volkswagen Group, and its trucks are still offered with engines up to a 16-litre V8, the V8 being reserved for the higher models.
Design and features
- Early V8: one of the first V8 engines in the world, developed in 1914.
- Danish origin: built at the Frederiksberg factory in Copenhagen.
- Top engine today: the V8 remains the largest engine in Scania’s truck range.
- Wide use: Scania also builds engines for marine and industrial applications.
Scania V8 versions
- 1914 V8: the first Scania V8, from the Danish plant.
- Modern V8: the 16-litre engine offered in the higher truck models.
The trucks that use the V8 are described in Scania R-series and Scania S-series. The generations of the 1980s and 1990s are in Scania 3-series and Scania 4-series, and more vehicles are in the Scania collection.
Sources
- Scania AB, English Wikipedia: 1914 V8, company history, current business
