2001 Volvo V70 on 2040-cars

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Volvo confirms return of the wagon with V60 headed to US

Turns out that promised new production Volvo model for the United States is indeed the V60 wagon, as we had previously predicted. And it's not terribly surprising, as Volvo has a long and storied history of wagon sales in the US, from the old, loveable 240 to the more recent high-performance V70R. And yet the automaker hasn't had a proper non-XC, non-crossover-style wagon in the US since it pulled the V70 away at the end of the 2010 model year.
"The new Volvo V60 is for people who want the handling of a dynamic sports sedan but need the versatility of a wagon," says Volvo, highlighting the reason many of us on the Autoblog team harbor such fondness for wagons in general.
Volvo is currently showing off the R-Design package for its entire model line, including the V60, at the New York Auto Show. We don't know for sure if the V60 will launch with the R-Design package or if it will come at a later date, and we also see no mention of a Polestar edition, though we're hopeful.

Cyan Racing Volvo P1800 First Drive: The Swedish answer to Singer Porsche

There’s a good chance youÂ’ve never heard of Cyan Racing unless youÂ’re a fan of World Touring Car Championship racing. Its previous name might ring a bell, however: Polestar Racing. Before the performance road car side of its business was sold to Volvo, and therefore long before that business was in turn spun off into an electric car brand, Polestar developed and campaigned racecars. Now known as Cyan Racing, it has had quite the run of success, too, as theyÂ’re the reigning champions in the WTCC series with five titles so far. Somehow, they found the time to create something entirely different: the Volvo P1800 Cyan. As the name implies, itÂ’s based on the P1800 coupe that was produced from 1961 through 1973. Readers of a certain age will associate that car with Roger Moore as The Saint, before he became James Bond. The P1800 has always been an anomaly in the Volvo lineage. Its classic shape came from the Frua/Ghia studio in Italy and even though it never had sports car credentials, the P1800 had a small but loyal following. So loyal that a P1800S holds a Guinness World Record for the 3.25 million miles driven by its original owner. Despite the P1800 CyanÂ’s undeniable similarity to the original Volvo coupe, itÂ’s an entirely different beast.  The only items that remain from the original 1964 donor vehicle are its steel chassis, hood release, handbrake, and windshield wipers. High-strength steel has replaced much of the substructure and the body has been reimagined in carbon fiber. Under the hood is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder sourced from the Volvo S60 TC1 race car. It produces a surprising 420 horsepower and 336 pound-feet of torque at 6,000 rpm. Bolted to the block is a five-speed Holinger manual transmission that sends power to the rear wheels. The original P1800Â’s live axle is replaced by an independent rear with front and rear double-wishbone suspensions being fully adjustable. The 18-inch custom wheels are shod with Pirelli P Zero rubber: 235 widths up front and 265s in the rear. This all results in a featherlight 2,180-pound curb weight. LetÂ’s just say that again for effect: 2,180 lbs. ThatÂ’s lighter than a Miata, folks. At this point, the P1800 Cyan is already unreasonably cool, but wait, thereÂ’s so much more. Hans Baath, general manager for Cyan Racing proudly admits that Singer Vehicle Designs is a huge inspiration for this project, and if youÂ’ve ever seen a Singer Porsche in person, you probably have an idea of whatÂ’s next.

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.