A tractor-trailer truck leaving San Diego on Friday carrying 80,000 pounds of cargo to Jacksonville, Florida is hoping to start a conversation on fuel efficiency.
The Starship truck, built by the Airflow Truck Company, uses technology to minimize the fuel needed to carry cargo from point A to point B. The truck features an aerodynamic design with its carbon fiber cab, active grille shutters, side skirts and “boat tail” extension panels to maximize airflow.
The engine uses a new low-viscosity, fully synthetic oil developed by Shell, which the oil giant says will protect against wear and tear and improve fuel economy. The truck also features a hybrid electric axle system, which replaces the rear non-driven axle with an electric motor axle that will give the truck a power boost while going uphill.
Shell says it expects fuel efficiency standards to continue to tighten in the future and hopes to get in the forefront with the “hyper fuel-efficient” semi-truck project.
The mission is really just to get people talking. Right in the front of the truck, it says 'Join the conversation,” Shell Rotella global brand manager Megan Pino told NBC 7. “We want people in the trucking industry, but really just people in general, to have more conversations around the need to reduce CO2 and ways in which to do that."
The truck will leave San Diego on Friday morning at SDCCU Stadium and the trip is expected to take a week, a Shell spokesman said.
