LEGO Launches the Volvo Hauler A60H Model

54 years after launching the articulated hauler concept Volvo CE introduces the co-developed LEGO Technic 6X6 articulated hauler Volvo A60H model – featuring app-controlled operation and fully automatic transmission.

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) popularized the articulated hauler concept in 1966 with the birth of the 10-ton payload DR631 – fondly known as ‘Gravel Charlie’. Some 54 years later the company is still transporting earth, gravel and a host of other materials over rough, muddy, slippery, steep or otherwise impassable terrain. Volvo CE H-Series range now includes its biggest ever production articulated hauler – the 60-ton capacity A60H.

Just like the real thing

Inside the LEGO Technic 6X6 articulated hauler Volvo A60H model giant box are 2,193 pieces, including six large tyres and heavy-duty motors. It is a technological tour-de-force, featuring app-controlled operation and a fully automatic transmission.

The 55 tonnes (60 ton) capacity A60H is designed for heavy hauling in severe off-road operations, including quarries, opencast mines and large earth-moving operations. The model is big – measuring 200mm (7in.) high, 200mm (7in.) wide and a vast 600mm (23in.) long. It is also packed with clever features, not least the complex internal gear system – which is fully automatic and motorized.

The motors are integrated and hidden under the hauler body and the cab – and the Bluetooth for the control hub is cleverly turned on by rotating the A60’s cab-top beacon. Much like all the electronic machine control systems on the real machine, the model’s Technic Control+ hub and the mobile phone application that goes with it control the model, allowing it to move forwards and backward, steer side-to-side and elevate and lower the dumper’s hauler body. Control+ also sets users a number of challenges that highlight features of the machine, such as moving uphill, going through the gears and tipping the load.

The model takes its influence from the latest innovations on the A60H, as matched drivetrain, automatic drive combinations, including 100% differential locks, all-terrain bogie, hydro-mechanical steering and active suspension. Fitted with an active hydraulic front suspension for higher hauling speeds in tough conditions, the A60H optimizes operator comfort and stability during travel, allowing more material to be moved in a shorter time.

The fun goes on even after the build

Volvo CE’s Mats Bredborg says:

“More than 50 years after we showed the world what an articulated hauler can do, we are still innovating and developing the concept. LEGO Technic and Volvo CE engineers have done an amazing job of replicating the A60H in miniature. It doesn’t just look like our A60H, it also follows its philosophy of innovative engineering and clever design. The Control+ mobile app and automatic transmission are both incredible. Even the safety features – a key element of all Volvo machines – are all present and correct.”

Niels Henrik Horsted, Marketing Director, Product & Marketing Development at the LEGO Group, says:

“This is one of the more complex LEGO Technic sets of recent years. The clever design is a great challenge during the build process, and the new LEGO Technic Control+ app allows the machine’s functions to be remotely controlled – and the fun continues long after the build is complete, with the app challenges.”