Bethany Farrow wanted to make a big entrance on prom night, so she arrived in style in her dad’s Volvo NH-12 480 tractor.
In our travels, we’ve seen stretch limousines made from Cadillac Escalades, Mercedes-Benz S-class sedans and Hummer H2s.
There’s even been a Mini limo cobbled together, equipped with a swimming pool. All are embarrassingly tasteless, which makes us really appreciate what a British schoolgirl named Bethany Farrow did on prom night. They have stretch limos in the United Kingdom, too, but Bethany instead borrowed her father’s Volvo NH-12 480 tractor and drove it herself to the big pre-graduation fete.
As the photo discloses, this is one big rig. It’s similar, appearance-wise, to the conventional Volvo tractors seen on U.S. highways, but the NH-12 was originally designed for export to South America, where roads are more marginal. Bethany’s father, Mark Farrow, bought it from a Volvo Trucks agent in East Anglia, after the NH-12 was sold when only a year old by its original Dutch owner. Mark Farrow drives for MDF Transport in Great Yarmouth, and specializes in heavy haulage, including blades for wind turbines, handling gross loads up to 150 metric tons.
By all indications, Bethany’s classmates were pleasantly shocked when she showed up, gowned and bejeweled, atop the sky-high air ride seat. It was a one-night deal of trucking for her at age 16 — she plans to study to become a barrister.
(This post originally appeared in the July 26, 2007, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)