OM441

From 1985 Daimler-Benz revised its V-family again as the OM 44x, hanging electronic diesel control on the existing inline injection pump and easing rated speed towards 2,100 rpm. The V6 gained something more fundamental. A 90° vee gives a six uneven firing intervals, and the earlier OM 401 and OM 421 ran roughly as a result; the OM 441 cured it with a crankshaft using offset crankpins. When the SK heavy range arrived in 1988, the intercooled OM 441 LA offered 330 PS from an engine barely a meter long weighing 720 kg.

That combination was the whole argument, and the trade press of the day put it plainly: a turbocharged six displacing a naturally aspirated eight. The 1733 and 2433 were the result. Euro I came in 1988 and Euro II in 1994, by way of a sleeve-controlled injection pump and charge cooling, with ratings from 245 to 340 PS. Setra used it upright in low-floor and intercity coaches; CLAAS fitted the turbocharged OM 441 A to Dominator combines. In 1996 the OM 501 LA took its place in Mercedes-Benz trucks.