Category: Volvo

Volvo Pure Tension Concept has Folding Solar Pavilion

Everyday we come across concept cars which promise to change the future, but aren’t much more than a carbon fibre monocoque riding on magnesium rims. The “Pure Tension” Volvo V60 Pavilion however, is really something else.

Commissioned by Volvo Italy and the winner of the Pure Volvo Pavilion Design competition, the Pure Tension solar pavilion is an experimental creation, developed by Synthesis Design + Architecture, Buro Happold, and Fabric Images. The mysterious floating sculpture of sorts seen floating above the rendered Volvo V60 is a pavilion, like the ones erected for trade shows or outdoor events. The pavilion is a tensioned membrane structure constructed using a flexible HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) mesh skin, held in place by carbon fibre rods, which can fully collapse and fit inside the trunk of the V60 when not in use. The Pure Tension however isn’t designed to just provide shelter and look pretty while doing it; It doubles up as a power source as well.

The mesh is embedded with photovoltaic cells so that the pavilion can absorb energy from the sun or indoor lighting, making it a portable charging station. It can power itself or the V60 which aptly so, is a diesel hybrid that plugs straight into the pavilion.

According to reports, the Pure Tension Volvo V60 Pavilion concept will be shown in September in Rome. The creation however is lightyears away from being market ready, and chances of us ever seeing such a car on the road are quite small. But the Pure Tension is a great example of true innovation in the automotive industry, and is comfortable proof that the ability to think differently about the cars of the future, isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

[Source: Synthesis +DNA]

July 17, 2013
2014 Volvo XC90 to offer world-first safety features
The Volvo XC90 has been around for 10 years now, but unlike its rivals, it has undergone almost no changes in its decade-long life. Competing SUVs like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7 have uprooted its market, and it isn’t known for its safety features, as much as Volvo would like it.

Keeping this in mind, Volvo has announced groundbreaking safety features which will be present on the 2014 XC90 and will hopefully rebrand them as the safest manufacturer globally.

When the first XC90 was introduced in 2002, it featured a number of groundbreaking safety features, including a world-first solution that helps prevent rollovers. By revealing a number of systems for the next generation XC90 we once again confirm our leadership in automotive safety

– Thomas Broberg, senior safety advisor, Volvo Car Group

The 2014 XC90 will have a very impressive set of safety features:
- Pedestrian detection in darkness: Volvo’s auto brake technology is updated to work in the dark. According to the automaker, the system includes detection and auto brake for other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
- Road edge and barrier detection with steer assist: This system detects if the car is about to drive off the road and automatically applies steering torque to correct its course. Volvo claims it also works on roads without side markings. “Being able to monitor where the physical road ends is a world first,” the automaker said in a statement.
- Adaptive cruise control with steer assist: The technology helps the driver stay in the lane and automatically follows the vehicle ahead. The car will slow down and/or brake if and when the car ahead slows down and/or brakes, and will accelerate on its own too.
- Collision mitigation for animals: The system — which Volvo calls a world first — detects and automatically brakes for animals in daylight and darkness. It will join the options list after the SUV debuts.
Volvo has long been known the pioneer of safety systems when it comes to the automotive industry. Last year Volvo announced that by 2020, no one will be killed or seriously injured in one of the automaker’s new vehicles. We can’t wait to see the XC90 and its hi-tech systems being tested in the real world!

[Images Source: Volvo]
July 9, 2013
Volvo joins V8 Supercars series in 2014 down under [w/video]

Volvo fans, we have good news for you. It had been a rumour for a while, and now it’s official. Volvo will be joining the V8 Supercars series in Australia with an official team in 2014. Volvo’s own polestar tuning firm and Garry Rogers Motorsport have joined hands to help Volvo create Volvo Polestar Racing.

The Swedish half of the outfit will produce a V8 engine, and will supply it to the Garry Rogers team, for them to get the car ready for the track. Two V8 Supercars will be used by the team, based on the production S60 road car. But considering that the S60 uses a range of transversely mounted engines with four, five or six cylinders (powering either the front or all four wheels) while the new race car will employ a V8 sending about 650 horsepower to the rear wheels, we guess the similarities between the production variant and the V8 Supercar stop at the exterior design.

Volvo claims this is the first factory-backed entry in the V8 Supercars series from a luxury brand. We should note, though, that Mercedes-Benz is represented in the series with an E-Class sedan, but that outfit isn’t quite an official entry from the car’s German parents. With the going away of the Ford Falcon, the addition of the Nissan Altima and now this Volvo S60, V8 Supercars is surely getting very interesting. Watch the teaser video below, to get an idea of what Volvo has in mind.

[youtube id=”PNvH9n90XtQ” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

[Source: Volvo, Polestar Racing via YouTube]

June 18, 2013
Volvo V40 Launching March 2013; Priced at Rs 25 lakhs

Luxury car major Volvo would launch its new car in Indian market by the end of March 2013, a top company official has said.

The car ‘V40-Cross Country,’ is already on road in Frankfurt and would hit the Indian market, which is a potential market for the company, Tomas Ernburg, Managing Director, Volvo India, told PTI on Friday.

n India, Volvo V40 will compete with the Mercedes Benz A Class and B Class, and BMW 1 Series hatchback. Tomas Ernburg told PTI earlier this Friday that India is a very big market. “Volvo India wants to be No.1 in India in the luxury segment and aims to capture 15% market share by 2020 and would sell 20,000 cars then. It would gradually increase to 30,000 in 2025,” he said.

Tomas revealed these details in Coimbatore, where he was present to open one of the Volvo showrooms in the country. Other cities that have Volvo showrooms include, Chnadigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Pune.

Volvo will increase their production sites to 43 by 2020, from current 12 by 2020 in order to capture the luxury car market by 2020. Volvo would commence operations at their plant in China next year and plans of building a plant in India are gaining momentum.

November 25, 2012
Volvo Launches the new Sporty V40 R-Design

The R-Design is a 2013 model design of the company’s Volvo V40 and has just been announced. It has Regular 254PS petrol and 115PS diesel engines, The engines have also been taken from the V40 Line.

R-Design has a lowered chassis that was developed with Swedish racing driver Robert Dahlgren in the Volvo Polestar Black R team. The sporty outlook is further attributed by an ironstone rear diffuser, silk-metal finished details and twin exhaust tailpipes.

The R-Design package is available with any of the Volvo V40 engine choices in Europe, from a modestly-powered 115-hp turbodiesel all the way up to a 2.5-liter turbocharged I-5 producing 254 hp.

Volvo expects the new V40 R-Design to account for 10 percent of the V40’s sales.

September 17, 2012