Volvo has previewed its latest concept ahead of a launch at the Frankfurt Motor show next month. The plug-in hybrid Concept Coupe aims to provide a window into the company's future direction with a "naturally powerful" design that hints at a certain hidden brutality while still retaining a sense of refinement.
The first design under the stewardship of Volvo's new Senior Vice President of Design, Thomas Ingenlath, the Concept Coupe traces its lineage to the Volvo P1800 of the 1960s.
“The face is new, but it also carries more than 85 years of Volvo heritage with great pride," says Ingenlath. "The floating grill and the cow horns in the lower front are modern interpretations of design features from the classic Volvo P1800.”
While the swept-back headlights with integrated T-shaped DRLs are a long way from the peeps on the P1800, key sports car elements are definitely present in the car's drawn out bonnet, flowing roofline and broad, truncated rear-end.
The interior of the Concept Coupe also has some new tricks up its sleeve with a digital display and head-up display, console-mounted touch-screen and a handcrafted Swedish crystal gear-lever to compliment the hand-carved wooden inlays and Kasthall woven carpets.
Under the bonnet, the Concept Coupe sports a two-liter supercharged petrol engine that Volvo says delivers around 400 horsepower when combined with the electric motor.
The Concept Coupe is also the first car built on the company's new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) which the company says will underpin its next-generation of vehicles, including semi-autonomous and autonomous models.
While the concept is destined to remain just that, Volvo says that design elements from the Coupe will filter into upcoming production models like the new XC90 which is due for release next year.
Stay tuned for more detail as they emerge from the floor of the Frankfurt Motor Show in coming weeks. In the meantime, here's a look at Volvo's Concept Coupe teaser video.
Source: Volvo
