Volvo Pulls Off Stunt to Launch New FH Series

Walking a slackline between two trucks driving at full speed towards a tunnel — let’s just call it what it is: absolutely crazy.

In case you aren’t one of the 5.4 million people who have seen the Volvo Trucks promotional video where American slackliner Faith Dickey walks a rope strung between two Volvos, you can watch it below — it’s well worth it.

The stunt had never been attempted before, and Volvo spared no expense in putting the film together. Oscar-nominated director Henry Alex Rubin was brought on, along with Peter Pedrero, who has worked with stunts in films such as James Bond, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean.

“Stunts are not for the reckless. Safety always comes first. You have to prepare for the worst possible scenario at all times, and plan for how to deal with it. Preparation down to the tiniest detail, meticulous planning — they’re absolutely vital,” said Pedrero.

The aim of the film, Volvo said in a statement, is to highlight the “driveability and superior handling of the company’s latest truck model, the new Volvo FH.” Volvo said the FH’s stability and handling is the reason both trucks could maintain a steady gap throughout the stunt.

“It’s not enough simply to say that we are good. We wanted to demonstrate just how much progress we’ve made in the area of driveability and handling,” said Ulf Nordqvist, project manager for the new Volvo FH series.

Volvo Trucks’ European division will unveil the new FH series during a live webcast at 3 p.m. eastern today.

We’re still getting over just how crazy this is…

 


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