2007 Volvo S80 on 2040-cars

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Volvo Concept XC Coupe does the full monte ahead of Detroit debut [w/video]

When the doors open at the Cobo Center next week for the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, Volvo will lift the veil on its new Concept XC Coupe. But you don't have to even wait that long. A set of images leaked out yesterday to accompany a teaser video released by Volvo, but now the Swedish automaker has revealed the full thing.
The second of three new concept cars aiming to show the way forward for the brand, the Concept XC Coupe follows the Concept Coupe revealed last September. Based on Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture, the Concept XC Coupe is expected to preview the next-generation XC90 crossover, but with two fewer doors and a four-seat cabin.
With orange details, matte rubber moldings and underbody skid plates, the design is said to have been inspired by outdoor equipment manufacturer POC - naturally also based in Sweden - whose products are favored by extreme athletes around the world. It rides on 21-inch wheels and incorporates T-shaped DRL headlights, with distinctive tail-lights earmarked to make their way onto the next generation of production Volvos.

Volvo to shake off Ford ties with new platforms, engines

It would seem Volvo is finally getting around to throwing all of Ford's things out of the apartment. Automotive News reports the Swedish automaker is preparing to unleash a range of new engines as well as a fresh platform designed entirely in house. The powerplants include an all-new four-cylinder engine set to bow before the end of this year before arriving in the US by 2014. Shortly thereafter, the world should get its first glimpse at the next-generation XC60, which will the company's first model to make use of the Volvo scalable platform architecture (SPA). US buyers can expect to see that machine on their roads by early 2015.
The next V70 and S80 will also use the SPA, though those models will carry V90 and S90 designations when they hit dealer floors. But that doesn't mean Volvo has completely weened itself off of Ford technology. The V40 will continue to ride on Ford bones until the model's next chassis can be co-developed between Volvo and Geely.

Volvo finds a way to turn body panels into batteries [w/video]

One of the problems with designing an electric vehicle is figuring out where to fit the battery pack. Volvo - as a part of a European Union research project - is working on a way around this issue by replacing standard parts with lightweight components that double as batteries on both conventional and plug-in vehicles. The image above shows one such piece on a Volvo S80. While looking like nothing more than a carbon fiber plenum cover, the piece is actually a battery pack that can store and supply enough energy for the car's entire 12-volt power system.
The parts are made by sandwiching super capacitors (which can charge faster than standard batteries) in between layers of carbon fiber. They can then be formed to replace numerous body panels such as the decklid, roof or door panels. Volvo says that the replacing the body panels and batteries with these nano batteries can help reduce the vehicle's weight by as much as 15 percent. It has taken more than three years just to design the batteries, so there's no telling when, or if, we'll ever see this technology used on a production vehicle. Scroll down for a video and press release on Volvo's innovative battery technology.