Eager to show off the latest FMX truck - the "toughest truck" it has ever built - Volvo secured the services of a 4-year old girl to drive the multi-ton rig amid obstacles. The girl, identified as Sophie Brown, did not really drive the truck. Rather, it was converted into an RC racer, which she can control remotely.
"The remote control used by Sophie was specially made for this film. Highly sensitive, the compact RC unit provided access to steering, accelerator, gearshift and brakes," Volvo said in the video's YouTube description.
Sophie was asked to steer it along a torturous course that involved a gigantic swinging block, a route swallowed by sand and mud, a gravel pit, fireworks along the way and several concrete structures that all needed to be avoided. As expected, Brown did not do very well in her task: the truck got smashed, fell in a ditch and crashed into a house. But towards the end, it emerged largely unscathed and still driveable, which was the point of the entire exercise.
Watch the hilarious live testing below.
The FMX truck stunt is part of Volvo's marketing drive and the video was probably rigged to make it look as good as possible, noted Engadget. But it was a clever and fun way to communicate the latest FMX's value proposition.
"The driven front axle in the Volvo FMX is hard to beat," Volvo said in its website. It is "even harder to beat now that it's equipped with the new Automatic Traction Control (ATC), a clever feature that automatically engages the front axle when it's needed."
