C30 Design Concept - Volvo's Small Car to Come

12 January, 2006

Image Gallery

Volvo C30 Design Concept – Muscular to the Max

Volvo Car unveils the C30 Design Concept as a clear precursor to its future small car – the C30. The C30 Design Concept is a sporty three-door, four-seater. It is not a coupe, as the C classification might imply.

“Our aim is to give the Volvo C30 Design Concept a hefty dose of muscles in a sporty and compact package,” explains Volvo Cars Design Director Steve Mattin.

The C30 Design Concept is designed to accommodate the unexpected with a versatile interior that is also aptly roomy for four adults. This small Volvo is perfectly suited to the cosmopolitan lifestyle.

The overtly muscular exterior wears a contrasting combination of two colours – Quite White and Very Bronze. The C30 Design Concept noticeably reflects several exterior design elements from the Volvo Safety Concept Car (SCC) revealed in 2001. An example is the rear glass area, which lifts up to access cargo space.

And it is the C30's tail that instantly reminds us of a very special Volvo.

ES-inspired tailgate
The dynamic front is characterised by the angled headlamps and the low, wide grille. Looking along the side, the defined wheel arches and the sloping roofline give the C30 a fast silhouette. Curvature through the rear shoulders is very pronounced for a purpose. The C30 Design Concept has stance and casts a presence far larger than its actual size.

“This exclusive and nimble glass tailgate is inspired by the classic Volvo P1800 ES and revisited on the SCC concept car in 2001. The light pattern is so unusual that you’ll never be in any doubt of which car you have in front of you,” says Mattin.

Seating for four adults
The interior reinforces the athletic abilities of the Volvo C30 Design Concept. The individual rear seats with generous legroom make the car a genuine four seater. The rear seats are slightly centred, which gives the passengers an aura of space along with good visibility to the front.

“The space between the seats also showcases Volvo’s super-thin, visually floating centre console, bringing it into full view from behind through the glass tailgate," says Mattin.

Space for luggage – when necessary
The Volvo C30 Design Concept is designed for a customer category that mostly uses the front seats only. The luggage space behind the attractive glass tailgate is designed for everyday loads such as briefcases and sports equipment – with the ability to swallow far larger loads if one rear seat or both rear seats are folded flat.

World class audio system
A first-class audio system is an important part of the driving experience. This explains why the Volvo C30 Design Concept has Volvo’s Premium Sound system, with 5x130 W digital ICE Power amplifier from Alpine®, Dolby® Pro Logic II Surround and 10 loudspeakers from Dynaudio® of Denmark.

Five-cylinder turbo engine with 190kW
Measuring 4240mm in overall length, the C30 Design Concept is 228mm shorter than the Volvo S40. The shorter C30, though, looks more muscular. The C30 is also 10mm wider – at 1780mm overall – than the S40.

There's plenty of muscle under the bonnet. The C30 Design Concept has an inline five-cylinder 2.5-litre turbocharged engine delivering 190kW at 5500rpm and maximum torque of 350Nm between 2100 and 5000rpm. The concept is equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox as expected in the athletic C30.

Not often do manufacturers make acceleration claims of concept cars, but Volvo does. The C30 Design Concept accelerates from 0-100km/h in 6 seconds and its top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h.

Keeps its promises
The 19-inch aluminium wheels wear Pirelli Corsa 225/35 R19 rubber. There are four-pot brakes from Brembo with aluminium callipers and 330mm ventilated brake discs front and rear.

“Sporty driving characteristics are a must to attract this customer category. A car that radiates muscular agility has to live up to its appearance once you slip behind the steering wheel,” says Håkan Abrahamsson, the C30 Project Director.

“Our aim is to give the Volvo C30 Design Concept a hefty dose of muscles in a sporty and compact package,” explains Volvo Cars Design Director Steve Mattin.

And it is the C30's tail that instantly reminds us of a very special Volvo.

“The space between the seats also showcases Volvo’s super-thin, visually floating centre console, bringing it into full view from behind through the glass tailgate," says Mattin.

Designer Genes – Volvo does Small and Sexy with the C30 Design Project

The C30 Design Concept is about feeling invigorated by the youth, by the passion and by the dynamics of Volvo's future small car. The C30 Design Project takes a mindful step forward for Volvo into a new premium market segment.

The three-door C30 Design Concept is obviously not a retrospective design. It is proudly Volvo and carries design cues such as the shoulder and hip lines that in terms of design genetics link it to the S40 and V50.

The C30 Design Concept is a candid insight into Volvo's future C30 Project – which has its sights set on giving a young, dynamic customer group its “own” Volvo.

“We know there are large numbers of fairly young, successful people who are attracted to our brand. But we also know they haven't found a model in our range that exactly matches their taste and lifestyle. The Volvo C30 Design Concept was developed precisely for this urbanite group,” says Fredrik Arp, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.

During the evolution of the C30 Project, Volvo interviewed customers during product clinics in several European countries. Young urbanites with accelerating careers and an intensive lifestyle were invited to give their views on the car’s design and technical content.

For an active life in the city
Volvo focused primarily on singles and on couples without children, who regard the car as a tool for pursuing their hectic lifestyles. With this customer group, design and brand name are particularly important factors when they buy clothes, decorate their homes or purchase home electronics – and they choose their cars according to the same criteria.

“These customers move at a fast pace between home, work, meetings, the gym and their favourite restaurants and nightclubs. Many describe their ideal car as a runabout – a nimble car to get them where they want to go in style and in comfort and safety. They focus on attractive design and entertaining driving properties and rarely travel with more than two people in the car,” explains Håkan Abrahamsson, C30 Project Director.

Design inspiration from the SCC
The customer clinics confirm that Volvo is on the right design and concept path with the new C30 Project. A sporty design with two doors, four individual seats and lines inspired by the Volvo Safety Concept Car, makes the forthcoming production model a keen contender in a segment where competition for customers is intensely sharp.

“At the Milan clinic, one of the participants said: ‘At long last an exciting new challenger in the segment, probably my first Volvo.’ It’s an excellent reflection of our ambition for the C30 Project,” says Abrahamsson.

Unveiling in Paris in 2006
The Volvo C30 Design Concept revealed today at the Detroit motor show offers a taste of the forthcoming production model. The covers will come off the production-based Volvo C30 at the Paris motor show in September, and the car will be successively introduced throughout the world starting at the end of 2006.

“The Volvo C30 plays an important role in the hunt for sales growth to 600,000 cars a year. It is vital that we broaden our model range so that customers with an active urban lifestyle can choose a Volvo with the right appeal as early as possible,” says Arp.