Top Cars

Paydirt. That's what Volvo Car Corporation has hit with the highly anticipated new three-door C30. Just a few weeks after the car's unveiling at the 2006 Paris Motor Show,Volvo Cars, in conjunction with three aftermarket tuning companies, unleashed the ultimate expressions of free will at the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The three cars, all modified iterations of the production Volvo C30, are the separate visions of Evolve Cars, Heico Sportiv and Burton Snowboards, and ipd, and represent what could be the ultimate dream cars for the growing number of C30 enthusiasts in the U.S. and around the world.

Built purely as design concepts and prototypes, each tuner took a decidedly different take on what the ultimate Volvo C30 could be. Volvo supplied each company a production C30 T5 with a six speed manual transmission and gave them only one rule to follow: all Volvo safety features must remain functional. Other than that, they were free to let their imaginations run wild.

Here is just a glimpse of what each car is about:

Evolve C30
The Evolve C30 is the ultimate street performer and track star with motorsports technology throughout. Horsepower is the name of the game here, with 507 stampeding ponies thundering through all four massive tires. Sophisticated race-inspired suspension, gigantic brakes and a screaming yellow high gloss paint scheme over wild body lines highlight the Evolve C30. Sequential twin turbos, exotic exhaust plumbing and an advanced heat exchanger promise eye-popping performance from this dream C30. Inside are highly bolstered seats, a safety structure and custom leather touches.

Heico Sportiv/Burton Snowboard C30
A joint collaboration between German tuner Heico Sportiv and Burton Snowboards, this C30 promises those with an active lifestyle the ultimate lifestyle vehicle. Fully drivable with 300 horsepower and factory electronically controlled all-wheel drive, this dream C30 features a height adjustable suspension, custom cut Toyo tires and an incredibly complex six layer camouflage paint job that will let the car blend in to the mountain environment while still turning heads on the road. Inside, there's a portable GPS system and gleaming 2008Burton snowboards and boots.

IPD
High tech and high style come through in the International Product Development (IPD) SEMA C30, all draped in the colors of the Swedish flag. Nothing like a little national pride to draw the crowds in Vegas. Producing 384 horsepower, the ipd C30 retains its factory front-drive layout and puts its best foot forward by offering up plenty of electronic fun and a thoroughly custom fabricated interior, highlighted by a touch screen in the floating center stack and a heads-up instrument display. But the icing on the cake is the fully functioning gull-wing style doors.


The very first Volvo car left the factory on April 14, 1927. It was called the V4 because the letters V are Swedish for “Open Car” and 4 denoted the number of cylinders powering the new Swedish car.


On February 20, 2008, it is once again an open car that is under the spotlights. That’s when car number 15,000,000, an attractive convertible Volvo C70, will leave the factory in Uddevalla.

In the first year, production proceeded at a modest pace, with 297 cars being sold in 1927. Emerging from the shadow of the global economic depression and Second World War, it took Volvo 23 years to build its first 100,000 cars. Today, that figure corresponds to about three months of production.

However, Volvo has never really been a high-volume manufacturer. Early in the company’s history, it was decided that the brand name should signify quality and safety. Since the early 1970s, environmental issues too have come to the forefront of the company’s corporate agenda. It is therefore no accident that Volvo was first off the mark with the world’s single most important safety invention (the 3-point safety belt was fitted as standard to Volvo cars as far back as 1959) and with one of the world’s foremost innovations in the environmental sphere (the 3-way catalytic converter with Lambdasond was introduced in 1976).

Many Volvo owners have over the years also expressed their appreciation of their cars’ sensible, solid engineering. Functionality has always been important and this was confirmed when British motoring magazine AutoExpress undertook an ambitious survey about ten years ago to find out which cars are best and worst to live with from the owner’s viewpoint. Two Volvo models took part in the survey, and both won their classes. The Volvo C70 was regarded as the best sports car and the Volvo S80 was named the best luxury car in stiff competition against considerably more expensive cars.

Today the Volvo brand is equally renowned for the attractive design of cars that reflect characteristic Scandinavian design traditions.

When that first car drove past the factory gates back in 1927, it proudly carried its “iron symbol” on the radiator grille. That mark was and still is a symbol of Swedish steel and quality. When car number 15,000,000 now leaves the factory in Uddevalla, that symbol is still carried with pride on the front and it still represents quality and solidity. The Volvo C70 is one of the absolute safest convertibles ever built. It is a functional and spacious car. And it is actually two cars in one as the three-piece retractable hardtop transforms the Volvo C70 from coupe to convertible at the touch of a button.

Volvo Cars has just released the Volvo XC90 V8 Sport in the US market, responding to customer requests for a sportier Volvo XC90. Going head to head with the likes of the BMW X5 4.4i (or the upcoming 4.8si), the Volvo XC90 V8 Sport has a 311hp V8 engine, and comes in two unique colour options – Passion Red and Electric Silver.

The chassis has had some enhancements to improve it’s driveability – stiffer antiroll bars and shock absorbers, quicker steering response, and the Nivomat self-levelling system is installed standard. On the exterior, you have twin chromed exhaust pipes and large 19 inch alloy sport wheels. The wheel arches come with color-matched extenders, which puts emphasis on the presence of the huge wheels. Chrome details such as the roof rails have been replaced with a matte silver finish, and the skid plate is lower.

As for the interior, you have sports seats and a sport steering wheel as well as gear shift done up in perforated leather. Instrument dials light up with a shimmering blue luster.

The Volvo XC90 V8 Sport is a limited edition vehicle, and will be on sale in Q4 2006 at US$49,300,00. That’s RM 181,281.00, but of course you know the deal with our tax brackets, oh well. More photos after the jump, with enlarged versions too!