Thursday 29th August 2013

Volvo Concept Coupe

Volvo unveils 'next generation P1800' ahead of Frankfurt debut

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"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.

 

 

[Nors]

First impression I got was, looks a bit like a 6 series BMW with a different Grill! And, a bit Aston Martin on the rear flank.

Hmmm....not sure. Looks like a mongrel of the above!

[ikarl]

that Volvo badge is HUGE!

[j90gta]

Tidy up the grille and it could pass as a baby Aston.

[zeduffman]

I quite like that. Especially the speedo

[matbat]

I kinda like it,

I think the front could be a little narrower but it looks good from behind.

For my money though it would need to be either RWD or 4WD.

[VeeDub Geezer]

How big is this?

Looks like Volvo wants a piece of the A5/6er market.

[RonanF]

Looks like a boatier version of the A5.

[blindswelledrat]

I think that is stunning.
Think back 10 years and Volvo didn't even pay lip service to aesthetics and all their cars were square and ugly.
Suddenly, even that concept aside, their range of cars is better looking than any rivals IMO.

[Blown2CV]

P1800? Not the new C70 then, which it would be more like.

[Matt UK]

Hint of the latest Mazda 6 in there? Maybe?

[blindswelledrat]

Blown2CV said:

P1800? Not the new C70 then, which it would be more like.

My sentiments too. It looks exactly like a modern C70

[tram50]

The rear does look very Audo A5 / Aston DB9. The front kind of reminds me of the Citroen DS9 concept that came out last year. A bit more of an individual option than buying a German repmobile so hopefully it might happen

[Adrian250]

I really like the look of this. Hopefully they will have the balls to put it into production as it is and not water it down too much. Give a decent engine with around 250bhp and good fuel economy and they will shift boatloads of them. I would have that over an A5 rep mobile any day of the week.

[suffolk009]

Aston DB7 glasshouse on a Volvo-ish body.

[kambites]

I like it. There's a sort of elegant simplicity to the shape that's almost unheard-of in modern cars.

[Richard A]

Bit of a shame that the homage to the P1800's front bumper(s) ends up looking like the F1 drop front wing brace reference used by so many other manufacturers.

[yes i'm mad]

I think it looks oddly dated..like something from the early 00's.

[vixen1700]

Like it.

Had a 1967 P1800 (1800S) as my daily driver in the mid '90s so have a soft spot for Volvo coupes. Like the nod to the cow-horn bumpers.

[Raoul Duke]

I like that a lot, not sure that they will have the courage to make it but very much hope they do.
Would also be nice if they could incorporate some of its design into the next generation S60 etc - I suspect that could be part of the reason they've done the design study.
In my opinion the recent facelift of the S/V60 looks far too generic from the front and something akin to this would be much better.

[goron59]

I like it. At least it's not brown.