"Think about the powerful calmness of a lion. He doesn't have to prowl to radiate respect. Even lying down he shows very clearly what he is capable of." So 'smiles' Volvo designer Thomas Ingenlath according to a Volvo press release announcing its Frankfurt Concept Coupe, the PR man likely making 'cut, cut!' motions in the background and hoping new Senior VP of Design gets back to his felt tips and design studio sharpish before issuing any more soundbites.
So, Tom, don't talk about the lion thing, right?
Here we are though, a coupe concept with obligatory reference to past glories (note, that here means P1800,
not C30
) that previews ... a forthcoming SUV. Yes, the Concept Coupe previews next year's all-new XC90, while showcasing Ingenlath's new design language intended to be rolled out across all new Volvos built on the firm's new Scalable Product Architecture.
In a possibly barbed reference to Ford-based underpinnings of the past the release says SPA "liberates Volvo's designers and engineers from the limitations of previous cross-brand platforms."
They're not done there either. Ingelath again: "Free from the superficial surface excitement of other car brands, we add emotional value to the Volvo brand with the calm, confident beauty that is the hallmark of Scandinavian design."
T-shape DRLS part of new design signature
So, no superficial surface excitement then. In its place we have T-shaped DRLs to replace the permanently ablaze headlights of Volvos of yore and a crystal gear selector. A large, centrally placed touchscreen dominates the dashboard too, no self respecting Frankfurt concept likely to be seen without such a feature. Suffice to say, this is bling, Scando style.
And look out fellow road users, Volvo is pushing ahead with its stated aim of offering automated driving by 2020 and is promising "autonomous steering to avoid accidents" by next year, presumably in the XC90 the Concept Coupe previews. As pointed out by a PHer following the blog on the Cyclist Detection System let's hope for all our sakes that works better than the braking equivalent.