A Real Swiss Sweetie

At a truck show in Assen, one vehicle stood out from everything around it. A Swiss-registered Scania, finished in deep burgundy and gold, took the top honour from the judges, and it was easy to see why. Parked between a DAF XF with a matching trailer and a Scania covered in elaborate artwork, it looked like an oasis in the desert.

First impressions

The walk around the outside was enough to win me over. There are details here that would normally put me off: gold paintwork, extra spot lights, a bull bar. Yet somehow this truck carried them all with ease. If anything, I would only remove the seven spot lights on the roof. Everything else simply works.

The colour is a rich burgundy, close to an antique red, and it suits the Scania shape perfectly. The same shade appears on other trucks in the same fleet, and it is a reminder that certain colours only work on certain vehicles. This is one of those cases where it does.

The palette is completed by gold and black, three shades that complement one another and give the paintwork real presence. The red rear wheels on the twin tag axle fit the scheme, as do the large bumper, the square lights, the straight stacks of a sensible size, the flat metal chassis infill and the side skirts. It is a considered, cohesive build.

Cab choice and stance

When it comes to the new-generation Scania, the R cab is the better-looking option. Smaller-cabbed trucks have always had more appeal than the range-topping S cab, and this one proves the point. The truck also runs Speedline super singles on the front axle, a look that has spread steadily since it was first popularised years ago.

A tribute to the manual gearbox

One of the most thoughtful touches is the gear shift pattern, picked out in LED lighting above the bunk and repeated on the rear of the cab between the stacks. It reads as a tribute to the manual gearbox, a mechanical masterpiece that is steadily disappearing from new trucks. For anyone who genuinely enjoys driving, there is a quiet satisfaction in working up through the gears yourself, and this truck honours that feeling before it is gone for good.

Inside the cab

The interior raises the bar again. The deep brown leather would be a safe, handsome choice on its own, but the pink trim takes it somewhere else entirely. Salmon, bubblegum, or something in between, it is a bold decision that could easily have gone wrong. Instead it works, sumptuously so, and sits just one step to the left of what custom truck interiors normally offer.

Not everyone would choose it for themselves, and that is precisely the point. It is confident without being chaotic, and the standard of workmanship is clear throughout.

The verdict

This is the kind of truck that would be worth copying entirely if you were building your own. The Swiss have long been the masters of sweets and chocolate, and this machine earns its place in that company. All it needs now is a trailer to match and a working life to go with it.