Making a SuperTruck: So that's how they did it

"Sleek-looking truck," you might think if you'd walked up to Volvo Trucks' SuperTruck last week in DC, "but where are the mirrors? How do you get to the trailer tires?"

Well, they cut typical side mirrors and went with cameras right above the doors instead, for one thing, and there are long, rectangular view panels inside the cab at both sides of the windshield displaying a live view from those cameras. So once you're in the driver's seat, it feels like they just moved the mirrors inside.

That's good for about a 1% reduction in aerodynamic drag, and also helps smooth the airflow down the side of the tractor and trailer, according to Volvo engineers. Those are the kinds of things you have to think about when you're designing a heavy truck that can pull 65,000 lbs. on a highway and reach 13 mpg doing it — check through our slideshow for more tech solutions the Volvo team came up with.

Here's a closer look in, under and around the Volvo SuperTruck and the technologies built into it from the truck's unveiling Tuesday morning, Sept. 13. 

In-depth: Read more about the Volvo SuperTruck — and what the company is doing now as its team gets started on the next chapter, SuperTruck II — in Fleet Owner's experience at the unveiling event here.