07 Jan 07
The Volvo XC60 concept unveiled in Detroit is how Volvos will look over the next few years. Indeed, the company is aiming for such a distinct look for the brand that it wants its cars to be recognisable from 100yds.
In the XC60, the Swedish car company is attempting to combine classic Scandinavian design elements and a more emotional, exciting feel - not something that is perhaps the first thing you think of in a marque that is usually associated with safety. If the XC60 is anything to go by, we may need to redefine our prejudices in a few years' time, as the sculpted, muscular look of the XC60 is a long way from the boxy Volvos from the company's recent past.
The XC60 is a crossover - an important segment for all car companies, and one that Volvo's parent company, Ford, will be concentrating on over the coming years. Combining elements of an SUV with those of a sporty coupe, the XC60 is said by the company to be good indication of how the production version will look when it hits the showrooms in early 2009. The most disappointing part of this is the fact hat we'll have to wait that long.
There are plenty of innovations on show in the concept, such as an ingenious tailgate system, where the lower part moves out and up over the upper section. Inside, there are seats that feature full-length 'ponytail slots' and an eye-catching 'floating' centre stack that features clever backlighting and was described by Volvo's design director, Steve Mattin, as looking like 'a giant iPod'.
However, despite Volvo's push to be exciting, it hasn't abandoned its focus on safety: the XC60 comes equipped with a City Safety system that features an optical radar to monitor the road ahead and activates the car's brakes and switches off the throttle if the car in front suddenly stops within the 6m scanned.
Volvo will also stick to its environmental principles by powering the XC60 with a six-cylinder, 3.2-litre bioethanol engine that pumps out 265bhp and generates 251lb-ft of torque - with emissions of fossil CO2 dropping by 80%, Volvo claims.
Volvo is aiming the XC60 at the kind of owner who Volvo hopes will be driving its new C30 - a design-literate target market of trendy urbanites, in other words. We think it will have an appeal beyond this relatively narrow demographic, however, and promises to change perceptions of Volvo over the coming years.
