The Volvo Concept You has just been unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, previewing the design direction of the Swedish brand’s next large luxury sedan.
The Volvo Concept You is an evolution of the Volvo Concept Universe that debuted at Auto Shanghai 2011 in April. While still very much a concept, the new design gives us a much clearer indication of the basic size, shape and styling elements to expect when Volvo launches its next flagship model. Volvo Car Corporation President and CEO, Stefan Jacoby, admitted the Concept You gives the world a “good indication” of the brand’s next large sedan, potentially the car that will replace the ageing Volvo S80.
With the Concept You, Volvo aims to blend contemporary Scandinavian design, with styling elements that have a global appeal. The concept car has its foundations in Volvo’s new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA), which the company says, “opens up dynamic design possibilities – on top of the technological and industrial advantages”.
The interior boasts a large tablet-style touchscreen in the centre console that takes the place of all the usual switchgear. It’s linked to the fully digital instrument panel in the dashboard and a head-up display on the windscreen. The central screen waits in sleep mode until the driver looks at it – a pair of infrared cameras tracks the driver’s eye movements – at which time it instantly comes to life. The display incorporates all the usual infotainment and climate settings and provides full internet access. Front passengers can bring up any information on the screen and ‘swipe’ it to either the heads-up display or the touchscreen in the rear.
Volvo also says the Concept You features a new Alpine ‘FreshAir’ subwoofer, which weighs only 1.4 kg, compared with a conventional subwoofer, which weighs around 15 kg. It’s also hard not to love the seatbacks, which are upholstered to look like business suits, and even incorporate pens in the pockets.
Do you like the design direction that Volvo is going in? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
