Vasteras Airfield, Sweden–Boije Ovebrink, a former truck racing driver, set a new world record for the fastest ‘Standing kilometre for heavy trucks’ in his red Volvo NH. The average speed from a standing start over a distance of one kilometre was 158.8 kph (98.67 mph), with a top speed of 240 kph (149.13 mph).Boije beat his old record of 155.744 kph (96.77 mph) set in 2001. Boije Ovebrink says: “We had very limited resources and a number of technical difficulties to resolve. However, the team behind the truck demonstrated an enormous will to succeed, overcoming all the problems and taking on all the challenges on the way to the new world record.” Under the watchful eye of Swedish Motor Sport Council officials, the world record was broken at Västerås Airfield in Sweden. The average speed from a standing start over a distance of one kilometre was 158.8 kph (98.67 mph), with a top speed of 240 kph (149.13 mph). With an output of 1,600 bhp, an impressive 5,000 Nm of torque and largely built using genuine Volvo parts, the truck really is in a class of its own. “Tuning a truck to such a level of performance and largely with original parts is a technically interesting challenge in itself,” says Boije Ovebrink. “To then use the truck without any major reconstruction or repairs after such a race really is a true indication of Volvo’s quality.” The world record-breaking truck – and the new world record holder – will now embark on a tour, taking in the number secondary schools around the Nordic region, with the aim of persuading young people to apply for the vehicle engineering programme or equivalent at high school
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