May 2012: Goodyear Tyres Helped Establish New Hybrid Truck Records

On the 27th of April 2012 the new Volvo Mean Green Hybrid Truck established new records in terms of standing kilometres and flying kilometres by using Goodyear tyres, thus going for the title of fastest hybrid in the world.

The test drive has been conducted in Utah, USA at Wendover Airfield, using the driving skills of Boijie Overbrink, who is also the owner of the vehicle.

The course itself caused a bit of difficulty since it is a high altitude course at 4200 ft (1280m) above sea level. This means that the engine of the truck needed to be adapted to the thinner air (which risked overheating) by decreasing the engine’s power by 20 percent.

With the Goodyear tyres, the hybrid truck Mean Green was able to surpass its records of average speed and flying speed. It achieved the speeds below:

· 236.577 km/h (147002 mph) for flying kilometres (the truck is in motion beforehand on a 1 km course in a direction and then in the other, with the two average speeds of each course noted down as the official result). The previously held record was of 218.780 km/h (or 135.943 mph).

· 153.252 km/h (95245 mph) for standing kilometres (the truck is set in motion from a standstill, running the 1 km course in the same course conditions). The previously held record was 152.253 km/h (94.605 mph) established in Sweden, in June 2011, at the Hultsfred Airport.

Currently we wait to see whether the United States Auto Club, which is an extension of FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile), will recognize the achievements. The time required for the analysis varies between 30 and 60 days.

The Mean Green truck by Volvo comes with an aerodynamic design which closely resembles a freight hauling tractor. Its components are mainly manufactured by the Volvo family from main components to the frame.

It comes with a Volvo D16 engine, modified Volvo automated I-Shift gearbox, combined with the hybrid electric motor. This offers 2100 horsepower capacity and almost 5000 pounds torque from which 885 pounds torque and 200 horsepower are provided by the electric motor.

Considering the above mentioned design and capabilities features, the tyres used needed to withstand high levels of stress. Goodyear has collaborated with Volvo to develop the tyres needed for the proper function of the Mean Green truck.

The tyres used are hand built and follow a design that closely resembles that of the 495/45R22.5 Marathon Long Haul Drive truck carcasses which had the capability of withstanding high torque and speeds.