New Volvo has 13-liter engine, 500 horsepower

Volvo FMX – Click above for high-res image gallery

No, we didn’t miss a decimal point. Volvo (well, Volvo Trucks, to be more precise) has just pulled one very big sheet off of a new heavy-duty construction truck called the FMX. The leviathan bears a host of features designed to help it excel on the manufacturing and construction sites of Europe, including impressive ground clearance, substantial skid plates and one badpush-bar. Of course, there’s also that impressive engine.

Volvo will let you equip your very own FMX with either an 11-liter powerplant capable of anywhere between 330 and 450 horsepower or a 13-liter lump with 380-500 horsepower depending on configuration. The larger of the two engines produces around 1,800 lb-ft of torque – more than both the 2011 Ford Super Duty and 2011 Chevrolet Duramax combined.

The FMX also comes with i-Shift – unique gearbox programming that senses the truck’s load, then adjusts gear ratios accordingly to climb or descend hills. It will also let you rock the vehicle back and forth to get free of sticky mud or loose sand.

Yes, Volvo says the FMX is built to boost the company’s presence in the construction market, but we’re thinking those three- millimeter-thick bumpers would stand up well in your run-of-the mill post-apocalyptic scenario. Zombies, militias, recession-induced governmental collapse – the FMX could handle it all. Hit the jump for the press release.

Gallery: Volvo FMX