New Volvo C40/C50

[BMWDave]

New Volvo C40/C50



New Volvo C40/C50



New Volvo C40/C50



New Volvo C40/C50



New Volvo C40/C50



Source: http://www.autoscoops.be]http://www.autoscoops.be

[Catman]

Beautiful car. B)  

[BMWDave]

Beautiful car. B)

I agree.  It will compete with the A4 Cabriolet quite nicely. :)  

[ifcar]

Looks nice. I hope they price it right, well under the A4 and 9-3.

[TBR]

The front looks to much like the S40's and the taillights are too wide.  

[Raghavan]

nice. this is a hardtop convertible?

[BMWDave]

nice. this is a hardtop convertible?

Yes.

[BMWDave]

Official Press Release

Irvine CA ? Volvo Cars of North America, LLC (VCNA) today released the first official photos of the all-new C70. With its innovative three-piece retractable hardtop, the second generation C70 is a car that provides the customer with premium choices.
(All vehicles have compromises). . With the top up, it's a sporty coupe with dramatic, head-turning style. With the top stowed below the rear deck, it's an open-air convertible that invites wind-in-the-hair fun and excitement. What makes the all-new C70 even more appealing is that there is room for four people.

The all-new Volvo C70 will be unveiled at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show in mid-September, with sales beginning in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2006 ? just in time for summer.

?We?ve succeeded in creating an attractive convertible which, at the mere touch of a button, converts into an equally elegant coupe. The customer gets two cars in one. Both with space for four adults,? says Volvo Cars President and CEO Hans-Olov Olsson.

Style-conscious convertible buyers will find the design of all-new C70 offers all of the freedom of a soft top, with the utility and personal security that only a hardtop can deliver upon. The forward-thrusting nose section and aggressively raked rear glass gives the car a powerful profile. ?Putting together harmonious lines both with and without a roof is no easy job,? says Fedde Talsma, design manager for the all new Volvo C70. ?We decided to start with the bold shape of a sports coupe and when we were satisfied with the result, we made the necessary adjustments to create a convertible.? Along its flowing fenders are the now ubiquitous shoulders that have become a Volvo design icon.

Unique Safety Solutions

The all-new Volvo C70 was developed to offer new standards of preventive and protective safety in the convertible market. The car has an advanced body structure and several solutions that make it unique among open-top cars. The lack of a fixed roof has been compensated for by reinforcements in the structure and sophisticated safety technology. One unique example is the new door-mounted inflatable curtain, which is part of the enhanced protection system for side impacts. Since the door-mounted inflatable curtain cannot be fitted within the headliner like other Volvos, it is fitted in the door and inflates upwards when it is deployed.

Volvo's safety engineers have fine-tuned the door-mounted inflatable curtain to be extra stiff. As a result, it remains upright for a longer period of time and helps to better protect the head in the event of a side impact. In addition, the curtain deflates slowly to help provide additional protection if the car rolls over. This is a unique solution in the automotive world.

High Torsional Rigidity

The body structure, in a carefully designed network of beams, not only contributes to the car?s high safety standards, it also gives the body extremely high torsional rigidity ? twice as high as that of the previous C70 Convertible. With the roof up, torsional rigidity is increased by an impressive 10-15 percent over the convertible.

?A torsionally rigid body is important to the car?s ride and handling traits,? says C70 project manager Patrik Widerstrand. ?It makes the car more stable and easier to control. It also makes the car more dynamic and fun to drive.? In the U.S. the all-new Volvo C70 will be powered by 2.5-liter in-line five-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces 218 hp and offers 236 lb.-ft. of torque.

Cooperation with Pininfarina

The development and manufacture of the all-new Volvo C70 is the result of a joint venture with renowned Italian company Pininfarina. ?Pininfarina is an excellent partner with long experience of developing and building convertibles,? said Hans-Olov Olsson. Like its predecessor, the car will be built in Uddevalla, Sweden.

The first-generation C70 Convertible had its best year in 2004 with just over 8,000 cars sold globally. U.S. sales in 2004 totaled 4,069 units. ?Our all new C70 is one of the first open-top cars in the premium segment with both a steel roof and space for four adults. We believe this is a highly sought-after combination. That?s why we expect to more than double our sales compared with the first-generation C70,? says Hans-Olov Olsson.
 

[ifcar]

I'm glad I didn't make Volvo seats my new GTCC. <_<

[TBR]

Wow, that rear seat has an enormous amount of leg room, I am anxious to see this car with the top up.  

[ifcar]

Wow, that rear seat has an enormous amount of leg room, I am anxious to see this car with the top up.

No, it doesn't really. All manufacturers try to present such an illusion, by moving the front seats far forward and carefully choosing the camera angle. But as you can see in the pic with occupants, the rear seat passengers have their knees practically at chest level. And judging by the position of the front passenger in that same pic, the seat is far forward there as well.

And there are pics with the top up in the first post in this thread.

[TBR]

Wow, that rear seat has an enormous amount of leg room, I am anxious to see this car with the top up.

No, it doesn't really. All manufacturers try to present such an illusion, by moving the front seats far forward and carefully choosing the camera angle. But as you can see in the pic with occupants, the rear seat passengers have their knees practically at chest level. And judging by the position of the front passenger in that same pic, the seat is far forward there as well.

And there are pics with the top up in the first post in this thread.

I know that, look at the 2nd interior pic which likely has the front seats as far back as they go, looks like it has the same amount of rear legroom as the S40 does. Also, I don't know how I missed the top up pics.

[ifcar]

In the second interior pic, the angle is set so that it looks like there is space. But study it, and it becomes apparent that there is almost no distance between the rear seat cushion and the front seatback.

[TBR]

In the second interior pic, the angle is set so that it looks like there is space. But study it, and it becomes apparent that there is almost no distance between the rear seat cushion and the front seatback.

The angle is quite large, so that argument doesn't work.

[R33 GT-R]

Hmmm, seabuiskit.

[ifcar]

In the second interior pic, the angle is set so that it looks like there is space. But study it, and it becomes apparent that there is almost no distance between the rear seat cushion and the front seatback.

The angle is quite large, so that argument doesn't work.

You're still being decieved by the angle. That seatback is undeniably close to the rear seat cushion.  

[TBR]

In the second interior pic, the angle is set so that it looks like there is space. But study it, and it becomes apparent that there is almost no distance between the rear seat cushion and the front seatback.

The angle is quite large, so that argument doesn't work.

You're still being decieved by the angle. That seatback is undeniably close to the rear seat cushion.

It should be since the seat is at an angle and likely all the way back.  

[ifcar]

The seats in that pic are moved up past the shifter. The S40, which shares most of its interior with this car, clearly has seats that go back further than that:



It would make no logical sense for Volvo to photograph the car with the front seats all the way back, as it would make the rear seat room look even worse. It's very difficult to judge front seat room from a pic though.

[TBR]

Good point, if that is indeed the far back seat position shifting would be very awkward for shorter people who have to have to be even closer to the wheel

[ragnacor1234]

It kind of looks like they did some cost cutting on the interior so they could make the hardtop convertible affordable.  I would have preferred an S60 or an S80 style interior.  Nonetheless I am looking forward to this one.

[ifcar]

I don't see what interior cost cutting you're referring to. It's the S40 convertible, so it uses an S40 interior.

[Catman]

I don't see what interior cost cutting you're referring to. It's the S40 convertible, so it uses an S40 interior.

Which is a pretty nice interior, especially when compared to other Volvo efforts.

[ragnacor1234]

I think its a great interior for a car that costs less than 30k, but when you put it on a convertible that costs over 40k then it looks a little more shabby.  I guess I was hoping for something a little more original not simply a recycled s40 interior.

[ifcar]

It's an S40 convertible, why should another interior be used? The $40K A4 convertible uses a standard A4 interior, a $40K 9-3 convertible uses a standard 9-3 interior. The S40 has a nice interior, and why should it be held to a higher standard than the others?

[ragnacor1234]

It's an S40 convertible, why should another interior be used? The $40K A4 convertible uses a standard A4 interior, a $40K 9-3 convertible uses a standard 9-3 interior. The S40 has a nice interior, and why should it be held to a higher standard than the others?

As a Volvo enthusiast I hold Volvos to a higher standard.  

The Saab 9-3 convertible sells for much less than 40k usually and is heavily discounted at the end of the year.  I can understand why it uses a 9-3 interior.  The Audi A4 already has a top notch interior that ranks at the top of a class of entry level sport sedans.  Why would they mess with perfection?  

I knew the convertible was going to be based on the S40 but they could have made it a little nicer.  Perhaps they could have spruced up the door panels a bit.  Its not like I'm a BMW fan where all you have to do is slap a BMW logo on the grille   :P  :P  :P  

[ifcar]

There's no reason to believe that the C40/C50 won't be priced below $40K as well. Remember, an S40 2.4i starts at only $23K sticker.

And this isn't "based on" the S40 any more than an A4 convertible is "based on" the A4. Just because it doesn't have the same name, is a V50 "a wagon based on the S40" or an S40 wagon?

[Raghavan]

why are there so many fold lines in the roof?

[ifcar]

You understand how a folding hardtop works, right? It folds.  

[Raghavan]

You understand how a folding hardtop works, right? It folds.

nvm. i said that because usually all folding hardtops have two sections instead of three. i just realized it has three because it's longer.

[Raza]

Looks like it has the proportions of the Chrysler Sebring when the top's up.  And I hate hard top convertibles.

Maybe I'll consider the R version (...if they make one).