LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The name remains to be seen (Maxxerpillar? Catforce, perhaps?), but there were few surprises when Navistar International  unveiled its new Maxxforce 15-liter big bore to customers, dealers and the media at the Mid America Trucking Show last night.

The company confirmed what Today’s Trucking first revealed in early February — that the upcoming Maxxforce 15 is an extension of the Caterpillar C15 platform and will be built under licence at a Navistar plant in the U.S.

Effectively, the engine combined the C15’s hardware componentry with Navistar’s ERG-based fuel system and emissions reduction technology.

Navistar VP Jim Hebe says the company is so confident over the durability and reliability of Cat hardware component and its fuel system that it’s going to offer the industry’s "leading warranty" on the engine.

Last year, when Caterpillar declared it was leaving the on-highway engine business, it also said that it would be working with Navistar to create an off-road truck branded ‘Cat’ powered by an International engine, as well as other largely unspecified projects.

Read much more about the Maxxforce 15 and the rest of Navistar’s presentation at Marco Beghetto’s blog by clicking here. (to read only the synopsis of Navistar’s event just scroll down to the end of MATS Day 1).