Tag: Volvo Cars

  • Volvo Cars debuts the new 2015 Volvo XC90

    2015-Volvo-XC90_651

    Volvo Cars has officially unveiled the eagerly expected 2015 Volvo XC90 after months of speculation. As promised before the new SUV delivers world leading safety features, new powertrain technologies, power and fuel efficiency, and a superior interior finish – all wrapped in a visually striking design.

    “This is one of the most important days in our history. We are not just launching a car, but re-launching our brand. This day marks a new era for our company. The XC90 paves the way for a portfolio of exciting new cars to come in the following years,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Car Group.

    The new 2015 Volvo XC90 is the result of a USD 11-billion investment program and is the first vehicle in a new chapter of Volvo’s history that includes a future design direction, a range of new technologies and the all new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) technology.

    The T-shaped “Thor’s Hammer” DRL lights will be the first thing that will impress you when you see the new 2015 Volvo XC90. The new vehicle is also the first Volvo to come with the company’s new and more prominent iron mark, which has the iconic arrow elegantly aligned with the diagonal slash across the grille. The XC90’s larger bonnet with its new topography, the beltline and the sharpened shoulders connecting with the distinctive new rear lights are other important design signatures that will be mirrored across the range. In addition to that the new 2015 Volvo XC90 will sport wheel sizes of up to 22 inches.

    “The overall impression, both exterior and interior, has a strong connection to the key elements of the Swedish lifestyle: the generous space, the celebration of light and the focus on wellbeing,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President Design of Volvo Car Group.

    “SPA has enabled us to create the world’s first SUV without compromises,” says Dr. Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President, Research and Development of Volvo Car Group. “You get the in-command feel, generous interior space and flexible capability combined with the agility and smooth comfort of a much smaller and lower car. The adrenaline rush that is key to true driving pleasure is delivered by powertrains that offer an unrivalled combination of power and clean operation. And since the XC90 carries the Volvo badge, world-class safety is standard.”

    The all-new 2015 Volvo XC90 comes with a number of comprehensive and technologically sophisticated safety technologies including two world first safety features – a run-off road protection package and an auto brake at intersection capability. In a run-off road scenario, the all-new Volvo XC90 detects what is happening and the front safety belts are tightened to keep the occupants in position. To help prevent spine injuries, energy-absorbing functionality between the seat and seat frame cushions the vertical forces that can arise when the car encounters a hard landing in the terrain. The XC90 is the first car in the world with technology that features automatic braking if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. This is a common scenario at busy city crossings as well as on highways, where the speed limits are higher. Finally you get the so called City Safety feature that includes auto brake functions that are standard on the all-new XC90. It covers vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in front of the car during daytime and at night.

    “The new technologies will take us a significant step closer to our vision that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by 2020,” says Dr. Mertens. “Our starting point on safety is the same today as it was when the company was created almost 90 years ago: real-life situations. We study data. We crunch numbers. We innovate. The result is one of the safest cars ever made.”

    The new Volvo XC90 is very luxurious on the inside too. The vehicle features a tablet-like touch screen control console, which forms the heart of an all-new in-car control system. This system is virtually button free and represents an entirely new way for drivers to control their car and access a range of Internet-based products and services. It also helps create an interior that is modern, spacious and uncluttered. The interior is made of soft leather and wood with handcrafted details, including a gear lever that is made of crystal glass from Orrefors – the famous Swedish glassmaker – and diamond-cut controls for the Start/Stop button and volume control. The genuine seven seater features new, innovatively designed seats that also free up interior space for passengers both in the second and third seat rows. The third row offers class-leading comfort for two passengers up to 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall. Music fans are covered too – the XC90 now comes with one of the top audio systems available in the automotive world thanks to efforts by both Volvo Cars and the British audio equipment company Bowers & Wilkins. The top-of-the-line system in the XC90 features a 1,400-watt Class D amplifier and 19 Bowers & Wilkins speakers. It also includes one of the first air-ventilated subwoofers in a car. Integrated into the car body, it turns the whole interior space into a giant subwoofer. The latest sound processing software has ben used to manage the timing of the sound and co-ordination of the speakers. This brings the emotional experience of a world-class live performance into the car.

    Two main accessory themes also add taste to the all-new 2015 Volvo XC90. The vehicle offers a choice between the Urban Luxury package and the Rugged Luxury kit. The former combines a color co-ordinated body kit with polished stainless steel details, such as front deco frames, front and rear skid plates and side scuff plates while the latter enhances the ruggedness of the XC90 SUV with tech matte black exterior trim, stainless steel skid plates, running boards with illumination and integrated exhaust pipes. The Urban Luxury package also arrives with 21-inch exclusive polished wheels, while the Rugged Luxury kit has unique 22-inch wheels.

    The 2015 Volvo XC90 is powered by a range of 2-liter, four cylinder Drive-E engines that provide both power and fuel efficiency. The most powerful engine of them all is the XC90 Twin Engine that combines a 2-liter, four-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged gasoline engine with an electric motor for total power output of 400 horsepower (294 kW) and carbon dioxide emissions of just around 60 g/km.

    Fans of the XC90 will be able to order the new vehicle in October with customer deliveries starting in May 2015. Expect to pay around GBP 45,000 for one 2015 Volvo XC90.

    Source: Volvo

  • Volvo reveals S60 and V60 R-Design versions

    Volvo has just announced a sportier, R-Design versions of its higly dynamic models 2011 Volvo S60 and V60. Both rides, the 2011 Volvo S60 R-Design and the 2011 Volvo V60 R-Design are true embodiments of the latest athletic innovations from the Swedish premium automaker. (more…)

  • The first fleet of Volvo C30 EV comes in the autumn

    Volvo Cars and Goteborg Energi Company have signed an agreement letter of cooperation in the field of electrical vehicles, according to which, the Swedish automaker will provide the energy company with ten Volvo C30 Battery Electric vehicles during this autumn. (more…)

  • Disguised Volvo S60 tests new safety technology

    Volvo Cars will showcase a new exclusive safety technology together with the all-new Volvo S60 in 2010. Volvo’s experts have been developing the new groundbreaking safety technology – Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection – for over ten years. (more…)

  • Volvo R-Design Package gains extra attitude for C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe

    Having good environmental properties doesn’t mean a car has to be boring. Quite the contrary: with R-Design, the Volvo C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe can be styled just as expressively and exclusively as the other model variants. (more…)

  • The refreshed Volvo S80 unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show

    The refreshed Volvo S80 is the result of an intensive dialogue between Volvo Cars’ project group and the discerning customers in the premium sedan segment. “We are ready to give the competition a tough match. (more…)

  • Two new five-cylinder diesels from Volvo

    Volvo Cars sharpens the company’s diesel offer. Two entirely new five-cylinder, 2.4-litre turbo diesels give the customers the attractive possibility to combine more power with class-leading fuel consumption and CO2-emissions: (more…)

  • Volvo Cars Uses Sun Simulation to Ensure Low Interior Emissions in Cars

    All new models are verified as if they were parked in Mediterranean sun, to measure the interior emissions in 65º Centigrade. (more…)

  • Volvo Cars engages Orrefors in work with new concept car

    A 3-d impression of the 1.6-metre crystal centre stack in the S60 Concept.

    Volvo Cars has engaged world-famous Swedish glassworks Orrefors in the work with the company’s next concept car, which will be a first taste of the next-generation Volvo S60. The joint creation, a floating centre stack of hand-made Orrefors crystal, will be shown for the first time at the Detroit international motor show in January 2009.

    In the concept car, the graceful, crystal-clear centre stack forms a gentle, calm wave from the instrument panel all the way to the rear seat backrest.

    “It almost looks like a waterfall from the instrument panel, flowing through the centre of the car,” says Volvo Cars design director Steve Mattin.

    The crystal panel appears to float above the centre console’s smart functionality. It rests softly on rubber pads and with the help of invisible light sources the crystal’s shimmering glow can be tailored to match the driver’s mood.

    “If you want to explore the full scope of Scandinavian design, Sweden’s glassworks are a natural source of inspiration. Large glass areas are also very much part of modern Swedish architecture, creating the special, light transparency,” says Steve Mattin.

    He adds: “In a concept car, you are able to release your imagination and creativity. Our iconic, super-thin centre stack was the perfect subject. We reinterpreted it and gave it a refined new form. Then it was up to Orrefors to use their superb skill to transform our exciting vision into reality.”

    Handicraft down to the tiniest detail

    The experts at Orrefors were keen to accept the challenge and the result is one of the most unusual and handicraft-intensive objects in the company’s 110-year history. Producing the stack was in itself a challenge beyond the ordinary – even for the experienced experts at Orrefors.

    Traditionally, the moulds for the crystal are first chiselled by hand from thick planks of alder wood. After casting, the glass is carefully polished to produce its final, crystal-clear lustre.

    A close-up of the melted glass – the first, hot stage in the creation of the crystal-clear S60 Concept centre stack

    “The undulating, slightly twisted shape and the precise dimensional requirements were two exciting challenges we had to face. Crystal is a living material, shaped by living people. We are not used to working with tolerances of tenths of a millimetre. What is more, we’re talking here about an exceptionally large piece of glass,” explains Orrefors design manager Gunilla Arvidsson.

    Crystal-like future plans

    In order to meet the relevant strength standards, the finished piece consists of three sections joined together at the Volvo Cars concept car workshops.

    “The full-size crystal piece in the concept car will not be a production feature. However, it does open up opportunities to use crystal on a smaller scale in the future. We’ll have to see how our customers respond,” says Steve Mattin.

    Creativity and functionality

    Although the material in the centre stack radiates uninhibited artistic freedom, the functions that are integrated have been thought through in every single tiny detail.

    • Beside the driver’s seat, the crystal console cuts straight through the instrument panel and its upper section forms a navigation screen at the precise height of the driver’s combined instrument.
    • At the bottom, the four iconic rotating controls protrude from elegant matt-polished recesses in the glass panel. In the middle there is a removable remote control.
    • The gear selector has a versatile new shape. In the horizontal position it offers drive in automatic mode. If the driver is in the mood for sporty manual gearchanges, the lever can be flipped up into the vertical position. Beside the gear selector there is also a starter button and parking brake.
    • The centre console runs all the way to the rear seat backrest, and under the crystal panel between the individual seats there are two drinks holders that slide elegantly forward when required.

    “We’ve put the focus on ergonomics and safety. With the combined instrument at the same height as the navigation screen, all it takes is a horizontal eye movement to switch between sources of information. Another example is that the controls used when you start and stop driving are a few centimetres from each other near the gear selector,” explains Steve Mattin.

    Mutual inspiration

    At the Volvo Cars design centre, exploring the glassworks in the deepest forests of southern Sweden has been a stimulating adventure.

    “The clean lines of the Orrefors products have been a true source of inspiration for many years. This was perfect timing for using crystal as a material in a concept car too,” says Steve Mattin. For the Orrefors glassworks, the debut as a supplier to the car world has also served as a new creative inspiration.

    “Volvo’s thin centre stack is an industrial product with an artistic yet at the same time functional form. It immediately inspires you to think of other application areas. Why not an elegant hanging ceiling light or a table-top ornament of some sort? We’ll just have to see,” says Gunilla Arvidsson.