It’s clever in that they made use of largely existing hardware (with the exception of the chain case) to solve an old problem in a novel fashion. Cylinder deactivation is an idea as old as the Cadillac V-8-6-4 and it generally brings a mechanical drag penalty to the table. Yes, I know “air spring bla bla bla” but…

So this is called a “U” configuration and it’s actually quite clever. Dodge had a few Rams driving around back in the 90s with U-8 engines that were made from 2 Neon engines coupled to a single transmission. They had individual clutches to the transmission which could disconnect one engine at a time from the…

Too bad BFG made the KO2 look like a brodozer tire, with all that crap sticking out of the sidewalls. The KO was such a simple and perfectly functional tire. Nothing fancy, all business.

I hate to be this particular guy, but AWD ≠ 4x4. This thing surely has the NP231 transfer case, which is plain old 4x4. Not AWD.

I used to drive an Eaton Fuller 9 speed. It’s actually a 10 speed, but Low-5 and High-1 are the same ratio, so you skip High-1 or Low-5.

Two sticks? Amateur.

That last pic tells me they’re just trying to get the heat out of the exhaust valve seats, nothing else. Makes me think the EGTs are really high on purpose... I wonder why.

Wire Coat Hangers.

This is the greatest comic revelation of my adult life. As a native Michigander, I’ve been waiting for this Canadian farm humor since the early 80s! Thank you!

BUT MUH REAL JEEPZ GOT ROUND HEA... ahh never mind

YAS!

It says it’s only 158 meters long? That’s downright compact!

Lol, these pics are from my old job. My new one is much quieter! As for books to read, most of them won’t mean much until you start getting some aerodynamics courses under your belt. The two that I refer to the most are the Hucho road vehicle book, and the Rae and Pope wind tunnel book:

Trucks are pretty well understood. Fair the tractor tight against the trailer, keep air from getting underneath the thing (especially from the sides), round in the front, sharp in the back The hardest part is just building an aero package the trucking industry can actually use. These things get beat up pretty hard,…

I wish I had the time! I also have to be careful, people with access to advanced design and engineering data are forever under the watchful Eye of Sauron lest we give away too much. One day I might change careers (again) and write a little about how we do what we do.

No, but the top speed is most certainly known. That is the whole point of this. That, and to correct your wrong assumption that the OEMs don’t have rollers. We have tons of the damn things. They’re in altitude chambers, warehouses, wind tunnels, everywhere.

All manufacturers use rolling roads every day for all sorts of testing, including powertrain performance. Every vehicle program will include exhaustive top-speed testing on a chassis dyno in a thermal wind tunnel to ensure the car can do this without melting down or catching on fire. If it doesn’t make the power to…

I forgot about that!!! BRILLIANT!