Hamster steers 15-tonne truck

Volvo has taken to turning out more stunts than Cirque du Soleil. The usually sensible Swedish brand has been promoting their trucks with a series of daredevil ventures that saw a woman tightrope-walking between two trucks, and the CEO dangling from a hook.

Now they've enlisted a hamster to steer a 15-tonne Volvo FMX truck along a narrow quarry road, to show how user-friendly -- and presumably pet-friendly -- their new electric steering system is.

Volvo converted the truck's steering wheel into a hamster wheel, and let a 173g bundle of fur called Charlie loose -- after a few weeks of training -- to pilot the rig along the steep road in a northern Spain quarry. 

Charlie's co-driver was stunt expert Seon Rogers, who did duty on the pedals -- which would have been something of a stretch for the little hamster to reach -- and lured the creature in the right direction with a carrot.

This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

Watch video here.