Volvo S60 Concept: official details revealed
By Andrew C., 26 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
Volvo S60 Concept
Recently Volvo has made available information and photos of the latest concept vehicle showing its next-generation S60 saloon scheduled for production in 2010. It is set to make its introduction to the world in January 2009 at the Detroit Auto Show and unveils the most current development of Volvo's latest design scheme. "The concept car's exterior gives a clear indication of what customers can expect of the all-new S60. On the inside we've been even more daring - there the focus has been on creating a vision of the future in the slightly longer perspective," said Steve Mattin, Volvo design director. The S60 highlights exact coupe-like dimensions, including tough shoulders, which when combined provides it an appearance that is quite identical to the design of the latest Jaguar C-XF concept car. However, there are a number of special features like the typical Volvo grill, handcrafted headlamps that comes with LED bulbs, floating doors, and an open design structure without B-pillars blocking access to the passenger compartment. Attractive performance features consist of a foldable diffuser that adapts with car speed to provide more sleek attributes, together with an advanced compact gasoline unit with direct-injection and turbocharging properties.
The diminutive unit displaces just 1.6-liters but generates a peak yield of 180hp (134kW). Fuel utilization is measured at a remarkable 47mpg (5.0L/100km) and emissions are a matching low 119g/km. Propelling the front wheels is Volvo's PowerShift 6-speed double-clutch transmission. In the interior, Volvo has tried to concentrate on ergonomics and passenger safety. With the joint instrument level with the navigation screen height, all it needs is a horizontal eye movement to go from one source of information to the other. Furthermore the controls employed when you start and stop driving are a just a few centimeters from each other beside the gear shifter. On top of the joined instrument, the driver gets info and warnings from different safety systems through the windscreen's head-up monitor. Data from the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) of the vehicle is incorporated in the A-pillars.
These safety features include the abovementioned Blind Spot warning system, together with a Collision Warning system with Full Auto Brake and pedestrian detection capabilities that employ radar instruments located behind the grill of the vehicle and a camera at the back of the rear-view mirror. It was also announced by Volvo that it has an ongoing partnership with Swedish glass manufacturer Orrefors to aid design the complex crystal center console for the show car. Orrefors was assigned with developing a crystal variant of Volvo's distinctive center console floating stack. The crystal panel seems to float over the center console, but in fact, it rests gently on pads of rubber and unseen light sources can change the glow of the crystal to fit the mood of the driver. In spite of its creativity and inventiveness, the usability of utilizing such an instrument in a factory vehicle makes it mostly a design application, a trend that has never been lost on Volvo. Mattin said: "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."
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