Volvo S60 Concept car (2008): first official photos

By Simon Stiel

First Official Pictures

24 November 2008 11:41

Volvo today releases the first exterior photograph of its new S60 Concept car that will appear at the Detroit motor show in January 2009 – ahead of a showroom launch in 2010.
 
Last month, teaser photographs revealed the interior of the S60 concept car, but now we’ve got a glimpse of its exterior lurking in the shadows. Some have criticised the S60 for looking too similar to the S80 and other Volvos and this new model is designed to address that. Volvo is seeking a racier image and, we hear, is setting its sights on the Audi A4 and BMW 3-series (a task its predecessor never cracked).

It’s a bit difficult to tell from this solitary teaser, but the exterior appears much curvier than today’s slab-sided S60 with the whiff of a compact coupe about the lowered roofline. The front end is characterised by the new-look grille and light treatment from the XC60, and there’s a prominent character line that swoops along the S60’s flank.
 
Steve Mattin, Volvo’s design director, claims that the S60 concept’s exterior is inspired by the ‘Swedish coastline’s cliffs and seas’.

It does look like one, doesn’t it? Volvo remains tight lipped about the layout of the S60 concept car, but this rendering suggests a door handle of a rear-hinged back door. Volvo could not confirm if it would go into production.
 
We’ll know for sure when the car is unveiled at the Detroit motor show on 11 January 2009.

By Simon Stiel