Frankly I was quite disappointed when the production Volvo C30 came out. For a car billed as the youthful side of Volvo, it ended up being yet another bland blend of Swedish charm with conservative design. Pity because the Volvo Safety Concept Car on which it is based was kinda revolutionary.
Which brings us to the S60 concept you see pictured above. This is one of the freshest, most interesting concepts to come out this year, from anyone. It depicts what Volvo sees as the look of their next S60, or something very close to it. The new S60 is due out in 2009.
I’ve actually met Volvo’s chief designer Steve Mattin and his perspective is to try and keep Volvo’s traditional buyers while attracting new, younger clients to the brand. Hence the C30. With the S60 Volvo aims more at the 3 Series/ C-Class market than 5 Series/ E-Class, so it will be a sportier car. The concept has a roof made almost entirely of glass for a panoramic view, while that floating centre stack plays an even more prominent role.
An honest plea to Mattin and his bosses: please keep at least 95% of this concept’s looks for the real thing. It looks absolutely stunning as it is, but concepts hardly ever mimic the final product’s design.
No comments:
Post a Comment