The piston has a contoured combustion bowl with a radially inner shelf portion that is spaced axially away from the radially outer lip portion a first axial distance, and a swirl pocket that extends radially from the radially inner shelf portion and defines a lower axial extremity that is spaced axially away from the radially outer lip portion a second axial distance that is greater than the first axial distance. The swirl pocket defines a tangent extending in the radially outer direction, forming an acute angle with the radially outer lip portion ranging from 70 degrees to 80 degrees.