I just figured I'd post this, though it's not really relevant to my build. There are some guys tuning these engines and piling up some miles on tunes that produce at the tires, slightly over 200 HP and over 400 ft lbs of torque (low RPM). Stock tune is supposed to be 172 hp and 303 ft lbs and the hot tune is supposed to be 219 HP and 459 ft lbs. And there's some talk on performance goodies, like a stroker or something. They did not mention swapping out stock components, except the EGR.
To put this in perspective, my 3/4 ton with 5.9 Cummins is rated somewhere around 235 HP and 460 ft lbs and it moves well for an 8k lb truck. Granted it'll last that way for 500k mi or more, but that's still incredible from a 2.8L engine. I'm not sure of the longevity of the 2.8 in those conditions, but I doubt it's very long. My AX-15 is maxed out as it is with a stock 2.8, but if you're looking for a torque monster, this small package sounds pretty promising if your rig can handle it.