Volvo has released first details of the redesigned S80 saloon which will make its world debut at the Geneva motor show next month.
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The second generation model line will be the first S80 offered with a 315bhp V8 and four-wheel drive (similar to the driveline recently added to the XC90 crossover range).
It will also be offered with a new 235bhp 3.2-litre petrol engine built along with Jaguar and Land Rover V6 and V8 engines in parent Ford’s Bridgend, Wales, factory.
Despite being a six-cylinder in-line (I6) unit, it has been designed to be more compact than Volvo’s in-line five-cylinder engines thanks to the camshaft drive mechanism and ancillaries being relocated and integrated into the engine block itself.
Two of Volvo’s existing five cylinder engines will be carried over from the current S80 – the 200bhp 2.5T petrol unit and the 185bhp D5 turbodiesel which was new last year.
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By GlobalDataLeft-hand drive sales begin soon after the show while right-hand drive cars reach UK showrooms mid-year.
“We expect to sell 50,000 new S80s a year around the world, of which 70% will be [to] new Volvo customers,” said Volvo Cars CEO Frederik Arp.
“The main markets for the all new S80 will be the USA, Germany, Spain, Sweden, UK and China,” he added.
New safety technology includes a unique personal car communicator (PCC) and new active safety systems – collision warning and brake support – with adaptive cruise control (ACC), active Bi-Xenon headlights and a new, patented body structure developed in-house.
PCC, a claimed world first, is part of an optional key fob offering ‘keyless drive’ and uses intelligent technology to remotely check if the car is locked or not, alert the driver if the alarm has been activated, and a heartbeat sensor which warns if there is anyone in the car.
The collision warning system alerts the driver, via a ‘heads-up’ warning display on the windscreen plus audible buzzer, if the gap to the car in front closes so fast that a collision is likely, while the brake support system boosts the braking force to ensure braking is as effective as possible.
The new active Bi-Xenon headlights improve the driver’s visibility at night by turning the beam of the headlights in the direction the steering wheel is being turned.
In its press statement, Volvo stressed the ‘Scandinavian luxury’ of the new car’s interior.
Scandinavian luxury, it said, differs from the traditional, or Teutonic, luxury offered by the majority of the other premium brands – read that as Germany’s Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Instead, the new car is said to have a “simpler, more stylish and modern feel by combining aesthetics and technology in a more inviting and intelligent way”.
Translation: a Scandinavian style interior (think Ikea furnishings) with a slim ‘floating’ centre stack (first seen on the S40), luxury upholstery materials and a choice of inlays and colour schemes that blend smoothly together.
Just like you can get in an Audi, BMW or Mercedes, then.
Other technology in the new S80 includes an optional active ‘Four-C’ suspension with three settings which constantly makes adjustments to suit driving conditions and preferred driving styles, plus servotronic steering offering variable steering torque.
In addition, there will be all wheel drive with ‘instant traction’ (initially only with the V8 engine) and all models will have DSTC (dynamic stability and traction control).
Graeme Roberts
