Volvo Concept Coupé. (Credit: Volvo Car Group)Volvo has released all the images, videos and details on its new plug-in hybrid called Volvo Concept Coupé—the first of a series of three concept cars that reveal the design possibilities created by the company’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA).
According to Volvo, SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) is a flexible, scalable product architecture that covers most of Volvo’s future car models. It is a product range consisting of shared modules and scalable systems and components, all manufactured in a flexible production system.The first design by the new Senior Vice President of Design, Thomas Ingenlath, showcases how design builds emotion into the Volvo brand and points towards the next generation of Volvo models, starting with the forthcoming XC90 in 2014.
“The Volvo Concept Coupé is no futuristic dream car. It is designed to demonstrate the capability of our new architecture: the confident stance, the proportions and the most prominent design signatures. Even though the all-new XC90 is an entirely different type of car, you will recognize the connection instantly when it is revealed next year,” says Thomas Ingenlath.
The concept car also includes a new approach to the user experience. A large portrait touch-screen in the central console interacts with an adaptive digital display and head-up display in front of the driver. According to the company’s news release, SPA is also being prepared for completely autonomous driving. The first features with autonomous steering to avoid accidents and make driving more comfortable will be introduced in 2014 — and Volvo Cars’ aim is to have cars with fully autonomous technology out on the roads before 2020.
Form the energy efficiency standpoint, the most interesting thing about Volvo Concept Coupé is that it is a hybrid vehicle. The petrol plug-in hybrid driveline in the Volvo Concept Coupé reflects Volvo Cars’ declared strategy to use electrification to create the most powerful versions in the new four-cylinder Drive-E engine family. The concept car features a two-liter high-performance Drive-E petrol engine with a supercharger and turbo. The petrol engine is teamed with an electric motor on the rear axle. This gives Volvo Concept Coupé a total output of around 400 hp and over 600 Nm of torque.
Apparently, this means that we are going to see more hybrid vehicles from Volvo in the near future.
