Volvo Super Olympian 12m 3ASV

History
The Volvo Super Olympian was unveiled in 1998, with one chassis being sent to Hong Kong for a motor show held by International Union of Public Transport in the same year. The chassis was later returned to the United Kingdom.

Chassis design
The Super Olympian chassis was based on the Volvo Olympian. The front radiator was moved behind the front axle on the 12 metre version, or in front of the second axle for the 10.6 metre version (due to its shorter wheelbase). In order to lower the chassis further, the assisted steering function of the middle axle was cancelled. The suspension system has also been largely modified so that it is electronically controlled instead of moving passively. One special feature is that after turning, the suspension unit does not return to normal, remaining tilted to either the left or right, until the bus becomes stationary.

An option for 11.3 metre length of Super Olympian was also available, but no orders were received. The Super Olympian was powered by the Volvo D10A285 (Euro II or Euro III), with a maximum power of 285 hp (213 kW). Its somewhat insufficient engine power has earned some mildly derisive nicknames in Hong Kong. The most common are "豬" (pig), "扒" (meat cutlet) and "豬扒" (pork chop, derived from the pronunciation of the word "Super").

Initially, the Super Olympian chassis were built in Volvo's factory in Irvine, Scotland. After the closure of the factory in mid-2000, production was moved to Wrocław, Poland.

Kowloon Motor Bus
12m version
Kowloon Motor Bus ordered the first batch of 61 (3ASV1-61) Alexander ALX500 bodied B10TL Super Olympians with ZF 4HP590 transmission, and roller shuttle route displays in 1998. These entered service in 1998/99. All except the prototype 3ASV3 had narrow 2+2 seats on the upper deck. The first buses were retired in November 2017.

A further 80 Super Olympians (3ASV62-141) entered service in 2000/01. These buses have electronic route displays and ZF 5HP590 transmission. 3ASV78 was the 3,000th Alexander bodied bus supplied to KMB, and 3ASV141 was the first KMB bus to meet Euro III emission standards.

The last 351 Super Olympians (3ASV142-492), including 21 which were fitted with Australian Volgren CR223LD bodywork, entered service in 2001/02. All of these buses had their chassis built in Poland. Their D10A285 engines were built to meet Euro III emission standards and had aluminium alloy front wheels supplied by Alcoa. 3ASV297 was coated with special metallic paint, which shows different colours (mainly green and purple), depending on the angle of light reflection.