Iveco and FPT Industrial are participating at the Dakar 2013 rally as official sponsors to Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco.
They will once again supply the team from the Netherlands with vehicles, engines and spare parts, continuing a partnership which saw them take the top prize at last year’s event.
Two Iveco 4x4 New Trakkers (Evolution 3), two Iveco 4x4 New Trakkers (Evolution 2) and one Iveco Powerstar will race across South America, each of them equipped with a Cursor 13 engine from FPT Industrial. The vehicles will be driven by Gerard de Rooy, Miki Biasion, Hans Stacey, René Kuipers and Jo Adua. They will depart on 5 January from Lima, Peru and are expected to arrive at the finish line in Santiago, Chile on 20 January.
The FPT Industrial engines
The 6-cylinder Cursor 13 engine is the result of FPT Industrial’s on-going research and development activities. It features advanced technologies, such as a second generation heavy duty Common Rail injection system, which provides pressures up to 2,200 bar.
The engines allow for high power, fast load response and high power density together with maximum robustness and reliability. Superior performance comes also along with low operating cost.
To ensure this high performance, all of the engines undergo several thousand hours of rigorous testing before entering the market. Challenging sporting competitions such as the Dakar are also used as a test ground for the engines.
Other examples of on-site sports testing include marine competitions. In this field, FPT Industrial counts the recent success obtained by another Cursor engine: the 9-litre, 650 horsepower version. Two FPT Industrial C90 650 engines powered the “FB Design”, a high speed boat navigated by Fabio Buzzi (a powerboat designer and multi-title holder in the world of nautical sport). The “FB Design” broke the time record for the New York – Bermuda route in September, finishing in 17 hours and six minutes, four hours and 33 minutes less than the previous record. This boating victory is preceded by another record-breaking feat on the Monte-Carlo – Venice route in 2011.
Further important sports achievements for FPT Industrial’s engines in 2012 include: the “International Truck of the Year 2013” win for the Iveco Stralis Hi-Way which is powered by the Cursor engine; a new record in fuel efficiency for the Case IH Steiger® powered by a Cursor engine at the Nebraska Tractor Test and the “Best of Specialized 2013” recognition for the New Holland T 4060 F tractor powered by an NEF 45 engine at the Tractor of the Year awards. These accolades and sporting victories demonstrate the high performance, quality and reliability generated at FPT Industrial.
