Preview originally published in European car, November 1996; republished by the author
coup de main: a sudden action undertaken to surprise an enemy
coupe from Volvo, noun: a surprising action undertaken to please everyone but the competition
After years – decades even – of utilitarian sedans and wagons, Volvo is cutting loose and bringing out a no-hold-barred, form-over-function coupe that, surprise, winds up almost as practical as the other cars and Volvos lineup. The new coupe is the Volvo C70, and its rounder than anything from Gothenburg that isn’t blonde and promises to be almost as much fun.
The coupe is a surprise, because at least since the 140 series debuted in 1968, Volvos have been boxes. The boxes have been well-proportion, sometimes even handsome, and always commodious, practical and safe. But they have been boxes: The 140 and the 240 series, the 700 and 900 series have all been boxes. Sometimes the boxes have been decorated and sometimes the edges beveled. As a Volvo ad said, “Sometimes we round corners, but we never cut them.” All those have been boxes.
Well, not before the 140. Remember the PV444 and the PV544, the Amazon/122? Or how about the coupe from the 60s, the P 1800? Nothing boxy about them. There’s nothing boxy about the Volvo C70 coupe, either.
That’s exactly what Hokan Abrahamsson, project director for the 066 Project, the C70’s internal development designation, wanted. Indeed, the coupe was supposed to look like a Volvo, to have the undeniable family image that makes it readily identifiable as one of the company’s products, but not be another box. It was, first and foremost, to aid Volvos “credibility as a specialist builder” and to enhance Volvo’s brand image. Being safe and practical is nice but is not, as has been said, what gets one invited to parties. Volvo just didn’t want to stay at home on Saturday night and watch American Movie Classics. But Volvo didn’t want a flirt. Says Abrahamsson, “We want to make money.” The coupe couldn’t be a loss leader. Serious long-term relationships were required.
Indeed, the coupe project began in 1993 in discussions on how to add volume. It was not the result of the failed marriage with Renault, insists Abrahamsson, although, he adds with the pause and a grin, that undoubtedly added impetus. But, by 1994, it was evident that Volvo didn’t have the engineering resources in-house for the added load of designing the coupe. Carmakers frequently hire out such work, however. Volvo had enjoyed a successful relationship with Tom Walkinshaw and TWR Racing, which had prepared factory team 850s for the British Touring Car Championship, so the Swedish firm brought in TWR for engineering support on the coupe project. TRW, states Abrahamsson, was treated “like our own engineering department,” following very detailed specifications from Volvo. All decisions were made by Volvo, the engine, gearbox and suspension were by Volvo, and the Volvo purchasing department worked with established Volvo suppliers for parts. Volvo, says Abrahamsson, learned some shortcuts from TWR, while Volvo provided knowledge about volume production, likening the relationship to a cannon and a gun.
Volvo (49%) and TRW (51%) became co-owners of AutoNova, the company that would produce the coupe and Volvos Uddevalla factory. TWR, says Abrahamsson, knows how to put a car into production, and Volvo wanted to give the English firm the responsibility and authority to run the plant. They cost $2.3 million to open Uddavalla, Volvo leasing the factory to AutoNova. With final assembly, body and paint shop, AutoNova is, notes Abrahamsson, “a complete car company.”
Actual engineering on the coupe began in June, 1994. Design approval was made in September and approved by the Volvo board in January 1995. By June the first prototype, “with the right shape and solutions,” was completed. Little more than a year later, Volvo was showing a final preproduction version to the press. Volvo and TWR were able to bring coupe from idea to reality in remarkably short time.
The directives for the 066 Project, for Abrahamsson, were clear. It had to be first and foremost an attractive design, the number one buying reason for coupe. Driving pleasure, and number two, was also important. The 850 had to be used as a basis, and the coupe had to exceed the 850R in ride and handling. The seats had to have more side support, and, being a Volvo, 066 had to be the “safest coupe on the market.” It had to be roomy – often a contradiction in a coupe. Although the rear seat was not a priority, the two rear seats of the four-seater had to be closer together than the front seats. By allowing an unrestricted view through the windshield, Volvo hoped to avoid the dungeon effect of many coupe’s rear seats. And there had to be a good radio. All in all, it was a tall order.
Peter Hobury has designer director at Volvo since 1991, and although a Brit, says being “Swedish is a positive thing, even if it took an Englishman to point it out.” Hobury was not involved with the making of the 850, though sites it as a good design for its purpose. The 850 changed everything mechanical about Volvo, introducing front drive and transverse engines to a very traditional engineering heritage of front engine and reardrive. Mimicking the earlier design provided the buying public some Volvo frame of reference. “It’s good they kept the original design,” as Hobury, but adds, “now it’s my turn.”
Even still, though he had to comply with no “hard points” in the body and had considerably free reign, Hobury didn’t come to throw out everything. People still had to be able to recognize the new coupes as Volvos. But interestingly, while design may usually be the number one reason for buying a car, it’s low on the list for Volvo owners – no surprise there – and this presented an opportunity. A Volvo coupe could appeal to traditional Volvo buyers just by being a Volvo while seducing new buyers with an attractive design. Hobury cites the old conundrum that a good design costs no more than a mediocre one. Still Hobury wanted to preserve Volvos heritage of Scandinavian design: functionality (even in a coupe) and uniqueness (Saabs and Volvos, though hardly alike, are different from anything else in the world), and the Scandinavian reputation as a caring people – the coupe would be as safe as any other Volvo.
Most of all Hobury wanted that Volvo recognition. People should say, “I know it’s a Volvo even though I don’t know why.” Soberly studied logos and found several consistent themes. One, of course, was the Volvo grille. This would be preserved, it would remain vertical. Some creators have retained their grilles but laid them back. This Hobury refused to do, thereby giving the coupe a distinctive image.
Unique the grille may be, but Hobury called a convex arc rule number one. Despite htheir boxiness, the 140 and 240 and all later Volvos – “every car since the Amazon,” says Hobury – as had this curve, a subtle arch, in its profile. In it were a saw tension and strength. The C70 would emphasize this feature with the character line, a crease in the sheet-metal, at the shoulder line from front to rear. Hobury evoked Volvo identity with a characteristic that goes all the way back to the 122 and even the PV series. Visible looking down the hood, there is a strong “V” shape in the contour of the hood. On the C70, this starts either side of the grill and spreads to full with of the cow. The nose is lower than the 850s, the headlamps particularly so.
Hobury created the illusion that the C70 is shorter than the 850, though both have the same wheelbase and the C70 is 2 inches longer than the 850 sedan. The deception lies in the coupe’s rounded contours. When viewed from any angle except directly from the side, the squared corners of the 850 make it look longer. The corners stick out further. But to keep the C70 from looking too narrow from behind, the taillights have a horizontal theme and wrap around to the sides of the car. Again an optical illusion. Another optical effect was the beveling of the rear badges so that, instead of lying flat on the inward curving surface and reflecting the dark road surface, they stand out reflect the sky. There’s no fakery in the car bucking the “cab forward” fashion, the coupe exhibiting a distinct long hood, short rear deck look. No official wind tunnel results are in – Hobury says the coupe wasn’t built for the wind tunnel and no major changes were made to oblige it – but a Cd of .30 or below is expected.
Inside, the lower roof is evident, though an informal sitting suggests that headroom won’t be a problem except maybe for Dream Team members. The window sill and cowl are high, however, and with the roof height and raked windshield there is a definite feeling of sitting low in the car. It’s very cool and un-Honda -like. There’s more of a retro feeling and elegance about it.
A sunroof and dual power seats will be standard, and the C70’s seat and deeper bolstering than a 50R’s, all the better to go around corners with leather upholstery standard, and panel color patterns from subtle to, well, really avant-garde, and four colors, three dark and one light. Optional are a full soft leather upholstery, with extra-soft leather all around on doors and quarter panels, a split leather/suede interior and a split leather/wood textile interior. Interior wood trim is available in three colors: Walnut root, red or black, or a really different light birch.
The instrument panel and dash are all new. This speedometer is centered, the tach on the right and the fuel, temperature and turbo gauges on the left, and Volvo now has an LCD odometer. Ventilation controls are all new with slick rotary knobs that are at once modern and traditional. New materials are used on the dash, the passenger airbag concealed under a seamless pad. A glovebox in the dash is big enough to hold the owner’s manual and a little bit more. US-bound C 70s will have a pocket under the dash; euro coops will have a tray. A unique feature is the option of a sunglass holder in place of the driver’s side grab handle.
Standard audio equipment is an Alpine three-CD changer up front with a changer and a 4X100 W amplifier in the trunk. Ten speakers are by Dynaudio, a Danish hi-fi maker well-known in Europe for high-end systems but previously not in cars.
Of course, the C 70s will have Volvos SIPS – side impact protection system – with the “foot” of the lower rear corner of the doors, underseat tubes and dual side airbags mounted in the seats. That’s the Swedish caring thing.
Although rear seating wasn’t a priority, the coupe’s backseat is surprisingly roomy. The vertically over-represented will bump their heads, but the rest of us have more than enough headroom, while the seat bottoms are a comfortable height of the floor with lots of legroom. Offsetting the rear seats toward the center keeps claustrophobia from setting in by providing a view other than just the back of the front seats headrests. Flip out rear side windows help, too. The shoulder belt attachment for the back seats three-point belts is at the center rather than the outside of the car. The curvilinear contours the outside are repeated inside and are most noticeable in the backseat. In addition to folding center armrest (with ski sack), crescent -shaped armrests are integrated into the rear side panels. A stretch limo the C70 isn’t, but it’s not the penalty box a coupe’s rear seat usually is.
Mechanically the C70 is based on the 850, sharing the floor pan and the wheelbase. The 850s rear track, however, is 2 inches narrower than its front, and Hobury insisted for appearances sake on making the C70’s rear track equal to its front. The wider rear track, since Hobury, improve the coupe’s handling. Standard tires are 225/45 ZR-17 on wheels with five split-spokes, though 225/50ZR-18 on multi-spoke rims styled by Hobury and made by BDS are optional.
The turbocharged five-cylinder engine is based on the 850R’s, though with horsepower raised from 222 bhp SAE to 240 bhp DIN – about 236 bhp SAE – at 5100 rpm. Work is 243 lb-lb at 2200 rpm. Volvo puts top speed at 155 mph – electronically limiting the top end, while zero-62 mph (0-100 km/h) takes 6.9 sec.
The C70 coupe, after being shown at Paris, goes on sale in the United States in the spring of 1997 as a ‘98. How many? The factory at Uddavalla is designed for 20,000 per year, of which Volvo expects half to come to the US. About half eventually are expected to be convertibles. Of course if there is sufficient demand, Volvo will be happy to spend the extra dollars to accommodate greater production.
“For the past three years,” says Hobury grinning, “I’ve really just been designing my next company car.” We should all be so lucky, although with Volvo we now have Peter Hobury working for us. The C70 coupe is not like anything you’ve seen from Volvo, at least not in a long time. The convertible will be an all-time first, at least for the modern era. It’s a new age. The C70 is the shape of things to come from Volvo.
Photos as published initially by Acme Photo
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