Volvo video gives a quick glimpse of new Concept C.
Volvo has been making plenty of promises for the future, the Swedish maker hinting at a variety of new products and a major transformation of its powertrain line-up to start rolling out over the next few years.
We’re likely to get a good look at what it has in mind during the Frankfurt Motor Show next month – and if a new teaser video released on Youtube.com is any indication, the Volvo Concept C will be anything but the plain “vanilla,” wagons that prior generations had grown used to.
True, the now Chinese-owned maker has been steadily moving away from its boxy design roots in recent years, and the Volvo Concept You shown at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show offered a clear glimpse of where things are going. But if the snippets seen in this brief teaser are any indication, the Volvo design language is evolving rather rapidly.
This mysterious image first leaked out last week.
Design chief Thomas Ingenlath gives a hint of what’s in store when he promises you’ll no longer describe Volvo products as “vanilla.” He’s shown sketching out some of his ideas, but the video also reveals four quick glimpses of the Frankfurt show car.
(Click Here to check out the new Volvo Concept C teaser video.)
The video comes just days after a separate image of an un-badged concept vehicle’s nose wound up making the rounds on the Internet.
The various images don’t come as a complete shock. The C-shaped taillights and the chromed grille will be familiar to Volvo fans. But the overall look is more muscular even as it gains a more luxurious feel than current Volvo products.
(Volvo wants to regain its safety leadership image. Click Here for more.)
Another detail from the Volvo teaser video.
For those who’ve somehow missed the news of recent years, Volvo is now owned by Chinese automaker Geely which, in turn, is pumping significant amounts of cash into its acquisition hoping to use Volvo as a global launching bad.
One of the more significant pieces of the Volvo-Geely strategy sees the Swedish side of the company migrating to an all four-cylinder powertrain line-up over the next few years, with a mix of naturally aspirated and turbocharged variants, along with hybrid and plugin options, as well.
Meanwhile, Volvo will soon have two new assembly plants in China, including one near Geely’s corporate headquarters in Chengdu, in Sichuan province. Though the official word is that those factories are meant to serve the domestic Chinese market, few would be surprised to see them begin to serve as an export base, too, if there’s enough demand.
(For more on Geely’s ambitious plans for Volvo, Click Here.)
We should learn still more in Frankfurt in a matter of weeks.