News from Volvo: In Volvo Trucks’ latest YouTube commercial, The Casino, a surprised parking valet is given the keys to a brand-new Volvo FH. What he doesn’t know is that the truck is remarkably similar to a sports car – thanks to its world-first transmission, i-Shift Dual Clutch.
Ambrogio Adani’s first shift as a parking valet at Casino San Remo in Italy didn’t quite turn out as he expected. In The Casino he is busy parking one sports car after the other when suddenly a brand-new Volvo FH drives up and stops in front of the casino. Adani looks very surprised, to say the least, but the fact is that with its new i-Shift Dual Clutch transmission, the truck has a whole lot in common with a sports car.
Just like the technology found in many sports cars, i-Shift Dual Clutch features double clutches, which means the truck loses neither road speed nor torque during gear changes. Volvo Trucks is the first manufacturer in the world to develop this kind of transmission for series-produced heavy trucks.
“For trucks, a dual clutch transmission is a major improvement, offering far smoother and easier driving. The heavier the transport task, the tougher the route and the more gear shifts, the more you gain with i-Shift Dual Clutch,” says Astrid Drewsen, Product Manager Drivelines at Volvo Trucks.
I-Shift Dual Clutch is a further development of i-Shift and can be described as two parallel-linked gearboxes. When one gear is active, the next gear is pre-selected in the other gearbox. During the gear changing itself, the first clutch is disengaged at exactly the same instant that the second one is engaged, so gear changes take place without any interruption in power delivery.
In The Casino, a brand-new Volvo FH makes its way down the red carpet, taking parking valet 23-year old Ambrogio Adani completely by surprise in a kind of candid camera production. Having parked one luxury sports car after the other, he is startled when a brand-new Volvo FH suddenly turns up and the impeccably dressed driver tosses the keys over to him and he who looks somewhat surprised, to say the least.
Volvo Trucks is continuing on the communication journey it launched with a series of commercials in 2012 and 2013 with smash hits such as The Ballerina, The Epic Split and The Hamster. All told, these films have been shown more than 100 million times on YouTube, not only strengthening Volvo Trucks as a brand, but also increasing interest in owning or driving a Volvo truck.
“The film is part of the launch campaign for our unique new transmission, the i-Shift Dual Clutch, a technology resembling that found in many of the world’s most luxurious sports cars. Placing this heavy duty truck in an elegant environment such as a casino – a classic backdrop for eye-catching sports cars – felt just right,” says Per Nilsson, Director Public Relations at Volvo Trucks.
As Claes Nilsson, President of Volvo Trucks says, “We’re really pleased that so many people are taking note of our products. With our latest film we are continuing to communicate our technological innovations, in this case I-Shift Dual Clutch, in a way that is not only relevant to people interested in trucks, but also to a wider public.”
