Weird modded Volvos unveiled
An overgrown dune buggy and a dragster...
Volvo North America -- yes, Volvo -- has put two new modded cars on its stand at this week's 2005 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show in Las Vegas.
Volvo's blurb reckons that "the two cars explore the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of just how far vehicle design may be pushed". The XC70 AT (All Terrain) is an extreme version of a production Volvo XC70 off-roader, and the T6 Roadster is in fact a dragster.
XC70 AT
  Volvo XC70 AT |
The XC70 AT is, said Volvo, inspired by the legendary, tough off-road Baja race. It features the 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo engine found in the V70 R but uprated from its normal 300bhp to 408bhp at 6,200 rpm, due to the fitment of a Garrett GT2835R turbocharger and ipd/MTE Stage III software upgrade. Cooling is supplied by an Aquamist in-cylinder intercooling system and an extra large top-mounted intercooler, with low restriction three-inch stainless steel exhaust pipes to speed the spent mixture.
It produces 398lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, and is mated to the same six-speed automatic transmission standard in the XC90 V8 (available in USA) and the 2006 V70 R, and coupled to the road by a Haldex fully automatic all-wheel-drive system.
The body sits on Volvo's Four-C active chassis with a customised, fully independent air ride suspension offering four inches of adjustability via dash-mounted buttons. Add in a four-inch lift kit and the XC70 AT can ride up to eight inches higher than the standard Volvo XC70. To keep body roll in check, 25 mm front and 28 mm rear anti-roll bars have been fitted.
Additional accessories include a 1,000 watt generator, high-lift jack, spare jerry can and tyre and remote exterior battery terminal connections.
T6 Roadster
  Volvo T6 Roadster |
This car was built by Leif Tufvesson. It's a hand-built hotrod based on Volvo components, including a twin-turbocharged 2.9 litre in-line 6-cylinder engine borrowed from an S80 executive saloon.
The engine is in the back, located just behind the leather bucket seats -- also lifted from an S80 -- and the gearbox is a five-speed Geartronic transmission that sends the power to the rear wheels. To help keep the engine cool, the rear decklid automatically lifts when a preset temperature is reached inside the engine compartment. Up front is a small compartment containing the mechanicals for the functioning ABS brakes and the top-notch audio equipment.
The custom fabricated tubular steel frame was hand formed and utilises rear subframes from the donor S80. Braking is handled via six-piston callipers and 330 mm discs while the rear discs are carried over from the S80. The front wheels are 8.5 inches wide and 20 inches in diameter, the rears are a full 10 inches wide and 22 inches in diameter.
Inside, the T6 Roadster looks as if it rolled off the Volvo factory line in Torslanda, Sweden. Aside from the seats, the instruments, headrests, gearshift handle and pedal assembly can all be found in the S80, while the steering wheel is from an S60. The instrument panel is custom-built.
More about the Roadster here.
The XC is hideous . . . doesn't Nissan make a fine one? Would make a nice Tonka.
Beefmeister said:
Just focussing on wheels for a mo -
How frikking big are the wheels on the XC thing? They look enormous!!
And also, odd to find a set of Kahn alloys on a car at SEMA....
Can't be much suspesion travel then- they look like they'd snag the inside of the wheel arch real easy. More 'softroader' than 'offroader'?
baskey said:
the second one is just a rip-off of those holden engined thingies they make in australia..
elfin - that's it!
>> Edited by baskey on Friday 4th November 12:43
Other way round surely...
That Holden was built this year, the Volvo was completed about 18months ago. IIRC it was built by one of Volvo's main chassis engineers in his spare time...#
Chris
Less so actually of the roadster thing. Call me conservative, but the engine should be in the front, it doesn't have a mid-rear profile to it (looks great though, apart from the slightly contrived windowline) - wouldn't it be a little tail heavy? Maybe perhaps Volvo have decided to go all 911 now that Porsche is chasing lifestyle consumers. How the tides have changed...
If you look at the interior of the roadster in the pics on the link it looks really good; very production like, with a nice wheel.
I'm off to buy a PSP, my mate won me $500.00 bucks and it has to be spent...
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