Volvo back in gear with V60

Make:

Friday, July 23, 2010

Volvo has announced details of its new, V60 sports wagon and says the car will be available in Ireland next January.

With the company’s tricky takeover by the Chinese, from Ford, now complete, and Ford having divested itself of the historic Swedish firm, Volvo is now moving ahead quite quickly and the V60 launch is one of a series of new car unveilings planned for the coming months.

According to Volvo CEO, Stephen Odell, says there are high hopes in the company for the new estate and the initial annual target for the car is 50,000 units, 90% of which will go to European buyers.

The five largest markets are Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.

The new V60 will be built at the Volvo Cars production plant in Torslanda, Sweden, and the first cars will be delivered to customers in Ireland in January.

The typical sports wagon customer is an S60 buyer who would like extra space and flexibility, but without the slightest compromise on sporty design and exciting driving properties,” says Volvo Cars resident and CEO Stephen Odell.

In its first year of production, the all-new Volvo V60 will be available with a variety of diesel and petrol engines, ranging from an economical, 115 horsepower DRIVe version to an eager, high-performance, turbocharged D5 model producing 205 horsepower.

Further specifications and prices will be announced at a later date.

Volvo says that the pronounced, wedge shape and the slim, coupe-like roof line of the new V60 are accompanied by the high shoulder profile along the car’s sides, creating a gentle yet powerful double wave from the headlamps, at the front, to the tail lamps, at the rear.

“From the design viewpoint, the focus was on making the car as close to a coupé as possible, while retaining that handy, extra space at the rear. Our sports wagon does not aim to compete with the traditional estate car.

For the customer who wants a lot of load space, there is our V70 or XC70,” says Örjan Sterner, head of exterior design for the new Volvo V60. He says: “The dip in the middle of the double wave visually pushes the car down. This enhances the stance and makes the car look sleeker and lower. The sculpted bonnet and the short overhangs, front and rear, also emphasise the sports car feel.”

Dynamism is further enhanced by what Volvo’s design team calls the ‘racetrack’ design. The car’s lines do not end abruptly, but, instead, continue to flow organically , continually, echoing the smooth shapes of the racetrack.

Volvo’s designers have integrated LED (light-emitting diode) technology to create distinctive, light patterns both front and rear. The vertical-position lights at the front, the side-marker lights, the turn indicators integrated into the door mirrors, and the tail lamps at the rear all give the new V60 an unmistakable profile, even in the dark.

Volvo maintains its chassis experts worked hard to create a special driving experience in the V60, and the result is “a sports wagon with driving properties that do the sporting appearance full justice.”

During its first year of production, the new Volvo V60 will be available with a variety of diesel and petrol engines. The focused drive to cut CO2 emissions has lowered fuel consumption throughout the engine range.

There will be a new, 1.6-litre, GTDi engine with 180 horsepower, called the T4. It will offer maximum torque of 240 Nm, from just 1500 rpm, all the way up to 5000 rpm. During short-term over-boost, it provides an impressive 270 Nm of torque.

This gives excellent flexibility throughout the speed range. The engine range also includes two, five-cylinder turbodiesels.

In addition, there is the newly developed, two-litre D3, producing 163 bhp and 400 Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 9.4 seconds (manual and automatic). Top speed is 220 km/h (manual) and 215 km/h (automatic).

The new, five-cylinder 2.0D is, in principle, the same engine as the present 2.4D, but cylinder capacity has been reduced with a shorter stroke to optimise fuel consumption. Both turbodiesels are available with a six-speed Geartronic transmission or six-speed manual gearbox.

Traditional Volvo values, in terms of passenger (and pedestrian) safety and comfort, are high on the agenda with the new car, while there are also many interior innovations.

This is, without doubt, an important car for Volvo, going forward in its new guise, and if the initial evidence is anything to go by, then the future will be very bright, indeed, for the Swedish concern — even under the control of its new Chinese paymasters.

Further information on specification and prices for the V60 will be available in due course..