CarBrandLogos archive · Scania · 1987

ScaniaScania 3-series

Modular building blocks, a 14-litre V8, and the arrival of aerodynamic cabs.

Photo: Joost J. Bakker from IJmuiden · CC BY 2.0

The story

A defining chapter in Scania history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Scania 3-series, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

New Zealand Trucks - Flickr - 111 Emergency

Origins

The 3-series arrived in 1987 and pushed Scania's modular thinking further than the trucks it replaced. The same cab shells covered everything from a construction P-cab to a long-haul R with a raised roof, while the engine range spanned the 9-litre DS9 and DSC9 sixes, the 11-litre DS11 family and the 14-litre DSC14 V8 in the R143 and T143.

New Zealand Trucks - Flickr - 111 Emergency · 111 Emergency from New Zealand · CC BY 2.0

Design and engineering

Turbocompound and intercooled versions raised output substantially through the run, and the Streamline package added rounded corner panels, deeper spoilers and a lower drag coefficient at a time when fuel prices were making aerodynamics matter to hauliers rather than just to stylists. The cab interiors were reworked around driver comfort on multi-day trips, which by then was a genuine competitive weapon in recruiting drivers.

DSC01613 - Flickr - 111 Emergency · 111 Emergency from New Zealand · CC BY 2.0

In production

Built at Sodertalje until 1998, the 3-series is the truck that consolidated Scania's premium reputation across Europe and made the V8 badge on the grille a status object in its own right. The 4-series replaced it from 1995, with an overlap while the old range served markets that were not ready to pay for the new one.

Scania Scania 3-series · bilbobagweed · CC BY 2.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1987–1998

Engine

Scania G, P, R, T 93 (DS9, DSC9)

Body

COE, Conventional

Technical specification

The Scania 3-series, in detail.

Production: 1987–1998
Class: Heavy truck
Body style: COE, Conventional ; Day cab ; Streamline
Layout: “4
Engine: Scania G, P, R, T 93 (DS9, DSC9); Scania P, R, T 113 (DS11, DSC11, DTC11); Scania R, T 143 (DSC14 V8, DS14 V8)
Assembly: Södertälje, Sweden (Scania AB)
Manufacturer: Scania