Watch how Volvo Cars drops new cars from 30 metres to help rescue services save lives

It is the most extreme crash test ever executed by Volvo Cars, and a crucial one.

Extrication specialists often use cars crashed at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre to hone their life-saving skills.

To allow rescue services to prepare for any possible crash scenario and to simulate the forces that erupt in the most extreme crashes, beyond what can be simulated with ordinary crash testing, Volvo Cars recently took equally extreme measures.

For the first time, it dropped several new Volvos multiple times from a crane, from a height of 30 metres.

This approach helped create enough damage to adequately simulate the damage found in the most extreme crash scenarios: think of single-car accidents at very high speed, accidents whereby a car hits a truck at high speed, or accidents whereby a car takes a severe hit from the side.