There has been a lot of Buzz around football this year and we're not just talking about awesome Lionesses for once.
Yes, the ladies most certainly 'brought it home' when they defeated arch rivals Germany in the Euro final at Wembley. but there was another star that wowed the crowds, while still delivering a vital service.
That crowd-pleaser was Tiny Buzz and she made her debut at the start of the very first match the championships between England and Austria by delivering the match ball in style.
That's because Tiny buzz is a scaled model of the all-new VW electric campervan called, yes you guessed, the ID. Buzz. It is the compact cousin of the Tiny Football Car (ID.4) that was used to transport the ball to the players at the men;s tournament and Tiny Buzz has proved quite the media and social sensation.
She has received 17.6 million TikTok views, more than 1.5 million twitter impressions so clearly succeeded in her mission to get noticed and there is a stronger message beneath the fun and games too.
The radio-controlled 1:5 scale model sports a multi-coloured livery as part of a Volkswagen campaign to help drive diversity and equality within sport with its message: “Women play football. #NotWomensFootball!” The slogan was also shown around the grounds on LED screens to generate a discussion around the topic of equal opportunities.
It's also a trigger point to help people consider language. For example, saying “women’s football” suggests it’s not the real game, so it should just be called football.
The little car looks the image of the all-new VW ID. Buzz campervan, apart from a large hollow area in the roof so the football stays in place as it fizzes along. And it most certainly does fizz with a 0-20mph sprint time of just 2.1 seconds and top speed of approximately 60mph.
The radio-controlled car is made from polycarbonate and has a lithium-ion battery. It can be controlled from up to 120 meters away via a pistol grip transmitter with integrated steering wheel.
During the Euros Tiny Buzz delivered the match ball at the start of the tournament, for the two semi-final games and the final. It was operated by a VW employer who needed nerves of steel with the eyes of the world on the proceedings. Thankfully, everything went to plan without any mishaps, although a sharp manoeuvre at one match saw Tiny Buzz avoid a collision with a referee who took an untimely step backwards.
We had the opportunity to ‘test drive’ Tiny Buzz recently and she certainly lived up to all the hype. The controller can be adapted to slow the speed and other dynamics, but she fires out the blocks and goes almost as quickly in reverse.
A slight twist to the left or right sees Tiny Buzz veer off in another direction and it can be controlled with pinpoint accuracy – not necessarily by me though. The trigger is exceptionally sensitive and too much pressure will see the little car firing away much faster than you imagined possible.
So, big respect to the operator at the Euros as Tiny Buzz powered out to the centre circle to deliver the match ball and then returned gracefully to the sidelines – job done.
Tiny Buzz even has her own spec sheet where dimensions such as 975mm length, 455mm width (including mirrors) and 400mm height are recorded. And if you wondered about luggage limits, she can carry one Nike Flight WE size-5 football (other makes are available!)
There are two Tiny Buzz models in existence and they were designed and built in Germany. The second one sports candy white and lime yellow colours. These were developed following the success of Tiny Football Car (ID.4) - he carried out the same role at the earlier Euros for men.
As for all the little cars’ future, they will be used at special celebratory events and as promotional tools to continue to drive home the diversity message.
