The perfect partners
The story of Matthias and his MAN TGX BlackLION began in 2019 at the Nürburgring, where the 38-year-old driver fell for the impressive MAN show truck at first sight. After that, no other truck would do!
“Special vehicles are a bit of a trademark for us,” admits long-distance driver Matthias Hölzle about his current employer, Trio Trans Logistik GmbH in Friedberg. He started working here as a long-distance driver in 2014, and ever since, has been fully convinced that MAN is the truck brand for him. It was here that he first sat behind the wheel of an MAN vehicle, which also happened to be one of the company’s show trucks: “I made some good contacts at MAN and within the whole show truck scene thanks to the ‘Römer’ truck with its Roman-themed exterior design.” Matthias also quickly discovered that MAN was the right brand for him: “For me it’s just the best and most comfortable vehicle.”
Love at first sight
In 2019 he went to the ADAC Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and stumbled upon the perfect vehicle for him: the MAN TGX BlackLION. As soon as Matthias saw it, being presented as a show truck in front of the MAN tent, he was immediately taken with it. As he was due a new truck at this point anyway, Matthias went to his manager and told him that he had found his dream truck. As luck would have it, he was given the opportunity to test the black truck for 14 days as a demonstration vehicle. But then, the truck of Matthias’s dream was gone again, and for a while, all was quiet. But what he didn’t know was that, in the meantime, his manager had actually bought the truck. When Matthias found out, he could hardly believe his luck.
Paint it black
Once the cool, black semitrailer combination was standing in the courtyard, he knew that the rest – i.e. the semitrailer – had to fit visually. “As the MAN was already called BlackLION, there was no question that the rest would also be painted black,” says Matthias. And even though the colour was thus already decided, he wanted to highlight the show character of the truck with other special details. So the company got airbrush artist Wolfgang Zeh on board, who had already decorated other Trio Trans vehicles with his artwork.
“I was delighted to have been given the job,” says airbrush artist Wolfgang Zeh, explaining that “at Trio Trans, the drivers and their requests are taken very seriously.” He went on to say that there ensued an animated discussion with Matthias, who contributed lots of suggestions for the theme – which Wolfgang was then able to put into practice. “He showed me images of lions, for example, which I then applied to the semitrailer.” Although not an easy project, for a professional artist like Wolfgang, it was a challenge he took on gladly and with professionalism: “The proportions have to be right. It’s like you are standing in front of a wall and have to keep stepping back to get an overview and then continue. Beforehand, I sketch out a few things that I can then use for guidance.”
The results are clear for all to see and the truck lives up to expectations: “The BlackLION is popular out on the roads,” says Matthias. He not only swears by the excellent design of his “lion” with its XXL cab, he also admits: “For me, there’s no greater cab where I have so much space, and where I really feel at home. It’s really smooth to drive, too.” Returning briefly to the design of the truck, Matthias has found an excellent way for even more people to marvel at his amazing show truck. A few weeks ago, he set up a separate Instagram account for his MAN BlackLION. “Everyone should see it,” says Matthias.
Special vehicles need special attention, and a bit of drama is just part and parcel of this for Trio Trans and its drivers.
Join now and win
This weekend would have seen the racing teams face off at the annual ADAC Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, which would also have provided the backdrop for the annual club rally. Sadly, everything had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis. Nevertheless, we would like to give our MAN and truck racing fans something to smile about: Enter our competition to win yourself a fan pack. The pack includes a baseball cap with the word “Löwenstark” on the front, a pin, a lanyard keychain and postcards of the new MAN TGX. Send us an email (England@truckers-world.eu) or click on the button below.
Good luck!