Skip to main content

Back to the Future's Best Scenes

Volvo History: The C70

Volvo introduced the first generation C70 at the 1996 Paris Motor Show,
following a European introduction as a 1997 model, and later as a 1998 model in North America — with 2.0 (sold mostly in Italy), a low-pressure turbo (2.4L) and a high-pressure turbo (2.0L and 2.3L), 5-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engines and manual and automatic transmissions. Peter Horbury designed the exterior and Mexican designer Jose Diaz de la Vega led the interior design team.


The C70 broke Volvo's decades-long styling tradition of boxy, rectilinear designs. According to Peter Horbury, Volvo's design chief from 1991 to 2002, with the C70, Volvo threw away the box, but "kept the toy inside!"

" Our vision was to design a convertible that would meet the needs of a family of four looking for comfortable blue-sky motoring in a vehicle also providing stylish looks, performance and faultless driving and road-holding."


In a development program of 30 months and working with a Volvo 850-derived platform, Britain’s TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) co-designed the car's basic design and suspension tuning with Volvo. Manufacture of the C70 was a joint venture until the two companies experienced disputes that threatened to interrupt production; TWR did not contribute to the second generation C70.

Volvo's first modern convertible, the C70 was manufactured in Uddevalla, Sweden on a separate assembly line from the 70-series sedan and station wagon. The four-seater convertible featured an electrically-heated glass rear window, automatic (pop-up) rollover hoops, seat belt pre-tensioners, boron steel reinforced A-pillars, front and side airbags, and a safety cage — a horseshoe-like structure around the passenger compartment.

The cloth convertible top, initially available in four colors, was fully automatic, operated by a single, dashboard-mounted button. The top stored automatically under an integral rigid tonneau cover in a system pioneered in modern convertibles with the fourth generation Mercedes SL.

The C70 convertible exhibited two negative traits endemic to convertibles: poor rear visibility and pronounced skuttle shake, a characteristic whereby the structural design of the bulkhead between engine and passenger compartment of a convertible suffers sufficiently poor rigidity to negatively impact ride and handling, allowing noticeable vibration, shudder or chassis-flexing into the passenger compartment.

Early special editions featured two-tone leather interior with wood trim and a SC-901 (1998) Dolby Pro Logic I stereo with 3-disc integrated changer unit (via a cartridge) 500 watts of power and 12 high end Dynaudio speakers.

The C70 was introduced to the press in a signature color (saffron orange metallic) and for the debut marketing, the 1997 movie The Saint featured a C70 — recalling the notable connection of the Volvo P1800 and the TV series from the early 1960s, The Saint with Roger Moore as Simon Templar.
text: wikipedia

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Cute girl drifting in rally car unfastened

【中継】日産モータースポーツファンイベント

World’s Best EV Crossover? Volvo EX30 Vs EVERY Rival

The All-New 2019 BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle.

Here we go again.This time official Today, BMW launches the all-new 4th generation 2019 BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle with two variants, the X5 xDrive 40i and the X5 xDrive 50i. Since its introduction almost 20 years ago, the BMW X5 has been built exclusively in Spartanburg, SC. To date, more than 2.2 million X5’s have been sold worldwide, one third of those sales being in the U.S. The all-new 2019 BMW X5 will again be built at BMW Plant Spartanburg, SC. This center of competence for BMW X models also handles production of the BMW X3, BMW X4, BMW X6 and will soon add the BMW X7. New design language exudes confidence and authority. A wheelbase that is 1.6 inches longer than its predecessor’s, a 1.1 inches increase in vehicle length, an extra 2.6 inches of width and a 1.0 inches increase in height give the all-new 2019 BMW X5 both a muscular appearance and a more generous level of space for passengers and their luggage. The latest X5 retains the hallma

All NEW 2025 Chevrolet Corvette Zora Revealed! First Look Will Shock YOU!

Lee Greenwood - God Bless The U.S.A.

GM's Missed Opportunity: Buick Conceives a Gorgeous Two-Seater, Mid-Engi...

Teaser: Opulent Velocity | Cadillac Concept

Artura Spider: All the Exhilarating Details

Labels

Show more