Kiwi truck driver Louise Marriott is following in the footsteps of iconic martial arts action hero Jean Claude Van Damme as the star of the latest stunt video from Volvo Trucks - 'The Flying Passenger.'
The video is the latest in a series led by Van Damme’s The Epic Split video which amassed over 84 million views, and features Louise driving a Volvo truck at speed through the steep Dinaric Alps in Croatia, towing a paraglider through a narrow tunnel in a world-first attempt.
The stunt was filmed over several days with Louise guiding French pro-paraglider Guillaume Galvani behind the Volvo FH truck using high precision driving at a constant cruising speed with zero margin for error. The test was set up to demonstrate Volvo Trucks' unique power train, fitted with I-Shift Dual Clutch, enabling improved performance whilst lowering fuel consumption.
"Driving on high gears and securing seamless gear shifting is an important factor for fuel efficiency. The I-Shift Dual Clutch enables smooth driving whilst staying in high gears and low revs," says Staffan Wendeberg, Product Manager at Volvo Trucks.
Louise, a driver for JPM Holdings in Christchurch, represents a growing number of female truck drivers in New Zealand and around the world.
Last year she became the first ever female driver to win the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge, beating 16 other international competitors, and therefore the first woman to ever qualify for the Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch Challenge global final.
The Flying Passenger was shot in the Dinaric Alps in Croatia on closed-off roads and under strict safety supervision.