Westport Innovations Inc. has announced a broad range of product enhancements to its HD 15L natural gas engine for Class 8 trucks:

Higher horsepower and torque. The Westport HD 15L will now be available in North America with up to 550 horsepower and 1850 lb-ft of torque, targeted for heavy haul vocations. According to Westport, this power/torque option for North America now matches what has been available in Australia for over three years and over 10 million km of rugged service. Availability of this enhancement is expected in early 2013.

Eaton Ultrashift Plus AMT. Automated manual transmission is now available in all Kenworth and Peterbilt configurations in North America for fleets that desire additional driver options.

Emissions aftertreatment improvements. The Westport HD 15L will feature an optimized emissions equipment system, tailored specifically to the lower emissions profile of natural gas to reduce cost and weight and improve operation and reduce user intervention, the company says. Availability of these enhancements will commence during 2013.

"These product enhancements are in direct response to requests from customers that operate their trucks in the most demanding of applications, and further validate that Westport's HD 15L natural gas engine offers diesel-like performance in any environment," said Clark Quintin, president of Westport HD.