Introducing two unique concept cars based on our new CMA architecture: https://t.co/VU11sYKlRj pic.twitter.com/oscfFl1BhT
— Volvo Car USA (@VolvoCarUSA) May 18, 2016
Close your eyes for a moment, and describe the Volvo brand, and what it means to you. Every brand has its own unique image -- a "flavor," if you will. For some its quirky design, for others it is efficiency, others still connote sporty driving dynamics.
Volvo's brand, while stately and elegant, feels boring to some. If you were to sum up Volvo's image in a single word, it would be "safety."
It draws in many Grand Rapids area drivers looking a premium SUV, wagon, or sedan that will hold up like a tank in a worst-case scenario, but "safety" isn't the same as "fun."
On May 18 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Volvo unveiled two new concept cars that could put the spark back in the Volvo lineup -- literally. The 40.1 and 40.2 concepts are the first two vehicles built on Volvo's new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which is designed specifically with electrified powertrains in mind.
"An electric powertrain program including both a new compact Twin Engine plug-in hybrid as well as a pure electric car are central to the CMA architecture," said Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars.
But let's forget about the eco-friendly pragmatism that is the electric future. Ditch pragmatic ideals altogether, and the 40-series concepts are stunning. The concepts dazzle the eye with over-sized wheels, modern lines, and a youthful exuberance that left all those in attendance at the reveal with the feeling they had seen something truly new. The beginning of a new era in Volvo.
"Each member of our product family has its own distinct character, just like the members of a real family," said Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President of Design. "CMA has helped us to capture something special, something youthful in our new concept cars. They have an energy, a disruptive and engaging urban character that makes them stand out amongst the crowd. This is the flavor of small Volvos to come."
View our new Volvo inventory at Betten Imports for more breathtakingly designed models.