LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Big engine and big power. That’s how Mack Trucks is promoting its latest Titan truck, unveiled Wednesday at the CONEXPO trade show, held this week in Las Vegas.

The MP10 16-litre, 605 horsepower, 2,060 lb.-ft. torque Titan, made a dramatic entrance at the trade show, with prominent boxing announcer Michael Buffer, and members of NBC’s American Gladiators, setting the stage for a show appearance.

Mack considers the new vehicle to be the most powerful truck in the 108-year history of the company. Mack announced the MP10 would be available later this year in the Titan, a new top-of-the-line heavy construction and transport truck and tractor.

“We are very, very proud off this truck, ” said the president of Mack Trucks, Paul Vikner.

“Mack has not been in this market for a long time. We are very, very, proud of this flagship truck. It keeps us in a lot more of the competitive trends, that are taking place in the sub-section of this market.”

According to Mack Trucks, it has had a tradition of equipping its trucks with big block engines going back decades to the RW super-liner with its E9-500 powerplant. The modern MP10 engine adds power management field-proven by its siblings, the 11-litre MP7 and 13-litre MP8 engines, according to Mack’s powertrain sales and marketing manager. Like the MP7 and MP8, the MP10 is certified to meet the US 2007 emissions standards, using ultra low-sulfur diesel fuel and a diesel particulate filter, added Mack’s David McKenna. All of Mack’s MP engines come with the next generation of Mack’s Vehicle Management and Control System, V-MAC IV, he added.

“The MP10 offers a perfect balance between low-end power and high-speed horsepower for severe-service applications like logging and mining, where drivers are carrying extreme gross combination weights,” said McKenna.

It has a “hump” horsepower curve, which means it has more power at 1,500 RPM than it does at 1,850 RPM. This encourages drivers to operate at lower RPM with greater power for improved fuel efficiency. The single overhead cam engine can generate peak horsepower of 515 hp, 565 hp and 605 hp in its MaxiCruise configuration, added McKenna. Maximum torque ranges from 1,860 ft.-lb. through 2,060 ft-lb. at 1,200 RPM. A Maxidyne configuration will be released later, he added.

“It is a big, bold looking vehicle.”

This MP10 also will also be appealing to loggers, miners, equipment haulers and any other heavy hauling application, according to Mack.

“In some areas, an operator running a log train is going to need low-end power to move maybe 250,000 lbs. gross combination weight (GCW) out of a logging camp to the lumber mill,” McKenna said. “You need the incredible low-end torque of the MP10 to move that massive load over basic logging roads and still maintain an adequate vehicle speed. And once that same truck reaches the highway, it can then deliver a 140,000-lb. highway-legal load from the lumber mill to the retailer. At that point the MP10 delivers the higher horsepower needed for highway speeds.”

According to McKenna, the MP10 is a “modern engineering marvel,” With approximately 38 hp per litre, the engine hits the sweet spot of being sized correctly for brute power while still being optimized for all-important fuel efficiency. For all its power, the MP10 is also a very quiet engine, with a harmonically-balanced camshaft and insulated engine mounts to reduce noise, vibration and harshness.

“This is the art of modern diesel engines,” McKenna said. “You get all of the components and subsystems to work in concert with each other. You manage the ways the fuel management and air management systems interact with each other to optimize power at every engine RPM step.”