At that time, it differed from most on-highway engines by using an overhead camshaft and "drive by wire" electronic control.

Starting in the late 1990s, Neoplan made the Series 60 as an available engine for their high-floor and low-floor articulated buses - the AN460A and AN460LF.

Detroit Diesel began making Series 60 marine engines in 1999, with wider availability starting in 2000.

[7] In 2007 - 2010 (2008 -2011 trucks), the Detroit Diesel 14L engine was modified to meet new emissions standards and went to a dual ECM configuration (DDEC VI).

The DDEC system was the first commercial use of a fully electronic control on a highway engine, and multiple years would pass before other manufacturers followed.

The system was able to provide records of truck overspeeding, excessive idle time, hard braking, and other parameters, thereby assisting owners in increasing productivity, reducing engine abuse, and decreasing fuel consumption.

Larger fleets purchased their own copies of the software, while smaller owner operators were able to have their computer datasets downloaded by the dealer servicing their engine.

The DDEC system allowed dealers and owners to troubleshoot problems with their engines, permitted changes to horsepower settings, and in some cases, alternative programs were able to be loaded into the computer.

The engine proved extremely popular with fleet operators, and built a strong reputation for reliability and longevity.

In 1992, the DDEC III system was introduced, and is available in horsepower ratings up to 470 hp (350 kW) due to revised camshaft timing and other improvements.