The new machine, supported by Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), Volvo Polestar Racing and a number of subcontractors, set the new world speed record for wheeled loaders at Sweden’s Anderstorp Raceway when it was clocked at 103km/hour with experienced operator Karin Olsson behind the wheel.
The machine is a faster prototype of the L60G model, part of Volvo CE’s new G-series wheeled loader range.
The concept was born five years ago but revised when Swecon’s partner in motorsport, Volvo Polestar Racing, presented a Volvo C30 PCP with four-wheel drive and 302kW.
During last winter and spring this year, a team of young enthusiastic technicians from Swecon worked in Volvo’s Västerås workshop to get the machine up to speed “I thought a project like this would be good fun for them,” says workshop manager Ronny Linderborg.
“It was such great fun to be chosen to work with something so special,” says 19-year-old technician Robin Frohm. “It's amazing that it's so fast and has set a new world record.”
The concept machine weighs 10tonnes, slightly lower than the standard model. But for more balance, the machine's counterweight is replaced by a fiberglass dummy and the engine has been optimised with its power increased from 120kW to 250kW.
A racing seat with safety harnesses has also been installed in the cab along with a racing steering wheel for better grip..l “The machine is powered by the latest Volvo D6 engine, which corresponds to the strict emission requirements for Tier IV interim/ Stage IIIB,” explains Fredrik Rigö, marketing communications manager at Swecon and project leader for the L60G PCP. “On top of that we are also running the machine on 100% bio-diesel, which makes our concept CO2 neutral."
Karin Olsson, the 28-year-old operator behind the wheel of the record-breaking wheel loader, works for the Hall Brothers Company in Hässleholm, Sweden. For part of her job as a wheel loader operator, she drives a Volvo L220E.
“My boss asked me if I wanted to set a new world record. Yes, why not, I thought. It sounded a bit scary but great fun, and I like to try new things.”
