International Truck has launched the LT Series, its new flagship line of Class 8 over-the-road trucks, developed through driver-centric design and featuring advanced technologies that deliver better fuel efficiency, best-in-class uptime, and super driver appeal.

“The new International LT Series reflects our vision for the future of the trucking industry, with a host of advancements that support improved driver safety and productivity, as well as fuel efficiency and uptime,” said Bill Kozek, president, Truck and Parts, Navistar. “This new vehicle reflects our strong belief that integrating the best technology will provide customers with a significant operating advantage.”

In developing the LT Series, International worked hard to assure that drivers will find each vehicle more comfortable, appealing and user-friendly in every detail. In keeping with the company’s DriverFirst product design focus, International undertook extensive research with truck drivers, including driver clinics that gathered input from hundreds of drivers. International used this research to design an all-new interior, and identified multiple new and improved features that enhance driver appeal.

“To ensure the new LT Series is the most driver-centric Class 8 vehicle we’ve ever built, we gave drivers a voice in its design,” said Jeff Sass, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Navistar. 

“Many of our customers tell us that their number-one challenge is attracting and retaining drivers, which is why we put so much effort into understanding and responding to drivers’ needs. These improvements also contribute to increased driver ease of use that will boost the vehicle’s productivity.”

Based on a careful review of more than 500 points where the driver and truck interact, the highly ergonomic interior of the LT Series includes better elbow room, hip room and leg room. Driver input also led to a smart, well-designed mix of high-tech and traditional features that emphasise driver ease of use.
The redesigned interior features a new premium gauge cluster with a digital driver display that places everything within comfortable reach, while offering drivers real-time monitoring of fuel economy and other important alerts in clear sight. The new display also offers up to 15 customisable digital gauges. 

In addition, the air horn was relocated back to its traditional, intuitive position over the driver door in response to overwhelming driver feedback. 

The same aerodynamic improvements that boosted the LT Series’ fuel efficiency also yielded a four-Sone decrease in wind noise, which eliminates noise harshness for improved driver comfort.

Multiple improvements are designed for improved safety, including standard LED headlamps to improve night vision, a column-mounted gear-shifter that allows drivers to keep their eyes on the road, and a redesigned one-piece side window that affords the driver a clearer line of sight. In addition, the Bendix Wingman Advanced Collision Mitigation system comes standard in the LT Series.

Best-in-class uptime

The LT Series was designed with the goal of best-in-class uptime, meaning keeping the truck on the road and facilitating quick service when the need arises. To drive improved uptime, International carefully reviewed reliability data and other data collected from OnCommand Connection, the company’s leading-edge remote diagnostics system, and made multiple enhancements to support increased reliability and serviceability. 

“We pored over reliability data to evaluate nearly every single system on our on-highway platform, in order to look for ways to get better,” said Denny Mooney, senior vice president, global product development, Navistar. 

“In some cases, we completely redesigned the entire system to reach our goals. We are proud of the integrated, data-driven approach we used to assure improved reliability, serviceability and productivity.”

Many of the truck’s new features were designed to improve reliability and serviceability, as well as functionality. For example:

• The new single-canister after-treatment system is not just 60 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter, but is also simplified for quicker servicing.
• The new LED headlamps and fog lamps not only deliver brighter light and intensity, but also have tough new polycarbonate headlight lenses that protect them against breakage.
• The cab wiring includes all-new harnessing and an in-cab power distribution module that is inside the truck, away from the elements.
• All key service points under the hood, inside the cab and around the vehicle are ergonomically designed for easy access and servicing, and many components have been engineered with longer intervals between required maintenance.

Fuel efficiency

The LT Series features dramatically improved aerodynamics and provides fuel efficiency that is seven percent better than the company’s most recent fuel economy leader, a 2017 ProStar with the Cummins ISX15 engine.

International has always placed a strong emphasis on industry-leading aerodynamics as a solid foundation for fuel efficiency, and the LT Series delivers three percent improvement in fuel economy due to its aerodynamic benefits alone. Upgraded aerodynamic features on the new International LT Series include an aero-contoured hood, fender, wheel opening and chassis skirts and an aero-enhanced three-piece front bumper, while longer side extenders shorten the trailer gap.

Aerodynamics in the LT Series were fine-tuned using multiple advanced testing methods, including computational fluid dynamics, one-eighth scale and full-size wind tunnel and coast-down testing, to assure that the vehicle would perform well facing winds not just head-on, but also at an angle. In fact, the higher the yaw angle of the wind, the better the LT Series performs against the competition.

Central to the advances of the International LT Series are advanced driver assistance systems that support safety and efficiency goals and pave the way for additional customer-selected options. 

The Bendix Wingman Advanced Collision Mitigation system comes standard with every model in the series, and is also available with the optional Bendix Wingman Fusion and Meritor WABCO OnGuardActive systems.

International’s own predictive cruise control looks ahead of the vehicle and recognises the terrain and continuously calculates the most efficient speed and gear for optimal fuel economy in real time. Unlike conventional predictive cruise technology, International predictive cruise control uses preinstalled GPS maps and the latest commercial route data to make adjustments to cruising speed without the need to pre-drive the route.

The sophisticated new electronic control systems also use programmable parameters to optimize efficiency. Driver controls and instrumentation are based on robust industry-standard SAE J1939 electrical architecture, with a new cluster and switches designed to keep drivers focused and maximize uptime.

Multiple configurations 

The LT Series will be offered in multiple configurations, including day cab, 142cm low roof sleeper, 142cm hi-rise sleeper, 185cm hi-rise sleeper and 185cm sky-rise sleeper. It will offer customers a choice of engines that provide premium performance. 

The LT Series is being launched with the new 2017 Cummins X15 engine, which has power ratings of up to 373kW  in the efficiency series and up to 422kW in the performance series. It is also being launched with the new 2017 Navistar N13 engine, which will be available early next year, and has an advanced fuel-efficient 13-litre design that produces up to 353kW and 2,372Nm. of torque from a design that is 225-270kg lighter than traditional big bore engines.