Volvo Trucks Raced Its FH Against A Koenigsegg One:1 To Test Sports Car-Inspired Truck Technology

About 12 years ago, in 2014, Volvo Trucks’ FH truck went head-to-head with the 1,360-hp Koenigsegg One:1 at Sweden’s Knutstorp circuit, in an extraordinary race designed to demonstrate the truck’s sports car-inspired I-Shift Dual Clutch transmission.

First introduced for the FH in Europe in 2014, the system uses two clutches, allowing the next gear to be pre-selected while the truck is moving in the current gear. Volvo said it was best suited for long-distance and demanding driving with many gear-changes.

The Volvo FH truck used for the challenge was an eight-tonne tractor unit powered by a 540-hp diesel engine, while the Koenigsegg One:1 uses a 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8 producing 1,360 hp and capable of accelerating from 0–400 km/h in less than 20 seconds.

• See Also: Mission Efficiency: Volkswagen Unveils World’s Most Efficient Near-production Electric Car

For the race, the truck’s 90 km/h speed limiter was removed to allow it reach nearly 130 km/h on the circuit. To give the FH a fair chance against the vastly faster One:1, the Volvo, driven by British racing driver and television presenter Tiff Needell, had to complete one lap, while the Koenigsegg, piloted by factory test driver Robert Serwanski, was required to complete two laps.

Despite the handicap, the Koenigsegg One:1 ultimately won the filmed challenge. For Volvo Trucks, the race was less about beating a hypercar and more about demonstrating its sports car-inspired transmission technology, which delivers smoother, quicker gear changes while helping maintain power through demanding sections of the circuit.

“Matching a Volvo FH against Koenigsegg One:1 was a great challenge, to see if our new gearbox delivers what it promises in terms of driveability,” Per Nilsson, PR Director at Volvo Trucks said after the challenge.

“We are always open to an exciting challenge. At the same time, it was particularly fun to race against a Volvo truck, because we have much more in common than just having sports car technology in our vehicles,” Koenigsegg CEO Christian von Koenigsegg said of the race between the two Swedish brands.

• See Also : First Customer $2.5M Koenigsegg Gemera Brutally Vandalized With Bricks Just A Week After Delivery