Powertrain Integration’s 8-liter V-8 propane autogas engine is now called “PIthon” because, says the company’s president, Robert Pachla, "Pythons are strong, powerful snakes that constrict their prey; PIthon squeezes every bit of power, every penny of savings out of operators' precious fuel and maintenance dollars."

The result of more than four years of rigorous development and testing, the big-block engine is aimed at the medium-duty on-highway market and offers an attractive alternative to diesel and gasoline power, Pachla said. Propane fuel costs much less, and the PIthon weighs about 500 pounds less than a comparable diesel engine, and that weight can become payload.

Rated at 339 hp with 495 lb-ft of torque, the PIthonTM is 50-state certified for over 14,000 lbs GVWR, and validated to 33,000 lbs GVWR.

Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation is the first truck builder to adopt the PIthon propane engine, in its S2G conventional-cab truck. Thomas Built Bus has simultaneously embraced the PIthon 8.0L LPI as an option for its Saf-T-Liner C2 Propane bus.