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New Lotus SUV could be based on Volvo architecture

Last year, Chinese carmaker Geely upped its stake in Lotus to a majority, recently investing more money into the British brand. Now, talking with Automotive News, CEO Jean-Marc Gales says Geely has approved three new models: two sports cars and the third an SUV. The sports cars will be announced later this year, and they will reach production in 2020. The last time a properly new Lotus debuted was in 2009 with the Evora, so a decade later new products are certainly due. But what about that SUV? Autocar says that since Geely also owns Volvo, that makes it possible for Lotus to base the SUV onto the Volvo SPA platform, which is also used in the XC60 and XC90. The choice of platform would mean the SUV would have to be a four-cylinder model, but that's nothing new to Lotus. It could even use Volvo's "Twin Engine" hybrid setup, which would mean a power output of over 400 horsepower as stock, and that with Lotus' eagerness for lightness could be a potent combination. Autocar quotes Gales as saying, "It will go round bends like nothing else in its segment." The target weight for the approximately Porsche Macan-sized SUV is under 2,000 kilos (4,400 pounds), and the Macan weighs 4244 pounds in 400-hp Turbo guise. The Lotus SUV is projected to hit the market in "about four years," and it's very likely to be built in China instead of Britain, as the Chinese market is very enticing — especially for this class of vehicle. The vehicles will still be designed at Lotus' Hethel HQ. Related Video:

Volvo reapplies to trademark the term C60

Perusing the database at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, CarBuzz happened on a trademark application Volvo cars filed for the term C60. Submitted earlier this month, on December 14, the mark would cover "Vehicles and Products for locomotion by land, air or water." Sounds like a car to us. Knowing the way trademarks go — which means knowing we might never see them on a production vehicle — this could be Volvo hedging a very long bet. The easiest guess as to where C60 might fit in the lineup is as the crossover coupe version of the XC60 Recharge, following the mold of the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge (pictured). With the current, second-gen XC60 having arrived for the 2018 model year, we would think a C60 version waits until a heavy facelift or new generation to join the party, assuming it ever happens. What's not hypothetical is Volvo's long-term involvement with the C60 alphanumeric. Going deeper into the USPTO files, seems Volvo first applied to trademark C60 on September 5, 2001, the same day the automaker also applied to lock down C40. Volvo traded paperwork with the government agency until 2009, when the carmaker abandoned both C40 and C60 in March of that year. Oddly, two months before, in January 2009, Volvo had reapplied to trademark C40 and C60, then abandoned both again seven years later, in July 2016. Again, oddly, nine months before the second abandonment, Volvo had reapplied yet again to trademark both C40 and C60. That was in November 2015. The USPTO granted Volvo the rights to the mark at the end of 2016, and it remains valid. So Volvo's latest submission is the continuance of the mark it's owned for six years and been toying with for 21. Volvo Cars owns the XC40 and XC40 Recharge trademarks, as well as C40, but it doesn't own a C40 Recharge trademark, the latter being the name of the production model. It took 20 years from Volvo's first idea of the C40 for us to get a production version. We don't know what a potential C60 will be, but it shouldn't be too far away. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Volvo teases minimalist, no-button EX90 interior

The march to the November 9 reveal of the Volvo EX90 takes its next step with these renderings of a pared down interior. We'll see soon how it looks once the new materials, textures, colors, and tunnel console are added, but for the moment, there are four elements: An instrument panel with a demure HVAC vent, broken up by a steering wheel, a small, uncovered screen behind the wheel, and an infotainment screen. The portrait-oriented tablet carries over from current Volvo design, so too a three-spoke wheel. Everything else in Volvo's current interior schemes is thrown out, including the knobs and buttons on the center console. It looks like the premium brand's version of the interior we were introduced to in the Polestar 3. Fitting, since both vehicles will ride on the same platform and be built at the same U.S. plant.  The cabin's physical design and the car's technology share a same philosophy, which is, "What you need, when you need it." Volvo says that the sensor suite around the EX90 will give the car a 360-view of what's happening outside and inside the car. " Thomas Stovicek, head of UX at Volvo Cars, said, "Since the car also understands its surroundings and you better than ever before, we can create an even safer situation by reducing mode confusion, distraction and information overload." On the infotainment side, we're told this will be done by the vehicle providing contextual options and menus on the two screens. The center screen, which looks larger than the current XC90 unit, performs the roles we've come to expect of it. Autocar spoke with automaker developers and said the screen "will also show information based on context. If you’re simply driving along, a bar near the bottom of the screen will show media information; if youÂ’re on a call, it will show other controls; if itÂ’s cold, it may show the defrost button, etc." This situational knowledge will be especially important as more roads are opened up to hands-free driving and as self-driving capabilities become more capable. Swedish engineers point to the handover from hands-free and autonomous driving back to hands-on driving as a crucial moment. It wants to make that handoff "effortless and intuitive." The display behind the steering wheel is where the driver will go first for traditional info like speed and range, also to understand the operational state of the driver aids.