FS7

Few trucks have bridged the gap between medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks as efficiently as the FS7, which was introduced by Volvo in 1987 in response to the request for a very light heavy-duty truck with ample performance as a single truck and very low kerb weight.

For crowded city areas
The creation of the FS7 was fairly uncomplicated, mixing the chassis of the heaviest version of the FL6 with the 7-litre engine from the FL7 and the cab from the FL6 range. The design was also facilitated by the fact that a similar version (FE7) had been introduced five years later for the North American market, and successfully marketed for regional transport and semi-trailer towing in the USA.

The FS7 was mainly intended for distribution in crowded city areas. For this reason a 7-litre Volvo engine ('TD73') was used, which was approved under the new European emission legislation to be enforced about a year later. The rest of the driveline was also produced by Volvo, including the gearbox and the rear axle, making it a 'genuine Volvo heavy duty truck'.

A lot of competition
The FS7 did enjoy a certain popularity, but there was a lot of competition from both the smaller FL6 truck and the slightly larger FL7 truck. For this reason the production of the FS7 truck ceased in 1996, when the FL6 Supercharger with 250 bhp was introduced, offering basically the same performance with lower kerb weight, thereby being even better than the FS7 in one key area; lower kerb weight = larger payload.