Volvo You Concept

Volvo You Concept

Volvo You Concept

Following on from the reveal of the Volvo Universe Concept earlier in 2011, the Frankfurt Motorshow marks the debut of an evolution to the Universe Concept - Volvo You Concept - and gives another insight into Volvo Cars future. Both concept cars are being used as design studies to obtain input from the global car buying public to find the ultimate design of the next large sedan from Volvo.

"Volvo You Concept gives a good indication of what you can expect from our next large sedan. The blend of contemporary Scandinavian design, exquisite craftsmanship and intuitive technology will appeal to luxury car buyers all over the world," says Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation.

The Volvo You Concept, combines a sleek coupé-like exterior with a luxurious high-tech interior that keeps the driver in command via intuitive smart pad technology. Volvo You Concept's luxurious interior gives luxury sedan customers a full experience of the craftsmanship and intuitive technology that will be the hallmark of future Volvos.

Global Feedback

The company has collected global feedback on Universe Concept, both through surveys and by closely monitoring social media comments.

"The most valuable input has been used in the development of the Volvo You Concept. This car features a more daring, coupé -like profile than the Universe Concept, while the front moves towards a more classic Volvo look," explains Peter Horbury, Vice President Design at Volvo Car Corporation.
Volvo You Concept (2011)
2011 Volvo You Concept

He added, "The fastback profile mirrors a strong trend among European buyers. With growing signs that Chinese "taste buds" are moving rapidly in the same direction, our main aim is to explore how daring our next large sedan should be in order to be a global success. We are very eager to hear what people think about the Volvo You Concept."

Cars Designed Around People

Volvo Car Corporation's strategy is to achieve profitable growth by being a truly global company with products designed around customers' needs and lifestyle.

"With our hearts in Sweden and our eyes and ears all over the world, we intend to be the brand that best interprets what buyers of modern luxury cars want," says Stefan Jacoby. He adds:

"The Volvo You Concept reflects how people's perception of luxury is moving beyond the traditional perspective. There is a growing appreciation for the ingenious blend of elegant design, superior craftsmanship and smart technology."

Several aspects of the new strategy

The Volvo You Concept radiates several aspects of Volvo Car Corporation's new, customer focused "Designed Around You" strategy:

    It is a large, luxurious sedan with a new, sculpted Scandinavian form language that also honours the sweeping, elegant lines of classic Volvo models.
    The inspiration from - and cooperation with - a number of world famous brands demonstrates the level of exquisite craftsmanship customers can expect from future Volvo models.
    The concept car reveals how Volvo's new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) opens up dynamic design possibilities - on top of the technological and industrial advantages.
    By bringing the latest intuitive smart pad technology into the car, Volvo Car Corporation emphasises its ambition to lead the development of super-functional connectivity features in cars.

Volvo makes life less complicated and more enjoyable

Volvo Car Corporation aims to make people's lives less complicated and more enjoyable while strengthening the company's established commitment to safety and the environment.

"We will compete with the best with our special kind of luxury. Volvo's cars are intuitive and uncomplicated. Our customers don't have to give away driving pleasure to drive safely. They can be environmentally conscious and still indulge the pure joy of owning a luxury car," Stefan Jacoby concludes

Touch-control cockpit and pure craftsmanship

The luxurious interior of the Volvo You Concept features a blend of intuitive smart pad technology and first-class craftsmanship.

"The Volvo You Concept explores new territories in our search for the ultimate intuitive car that makes the owners manual a thing of the past. Smart phones and smart pads have brought mobile infotainment into a new era. Here, we use a number of touch-screens to replace buttons and controls in order to make the driver totally connected, totally in control. The technology also helps us to create a refreshingly uncluttered interior," explains Peter Horbury.

The Volvo You Concept control centre consists of four main areas; a digital Driver Information Monitor (DIM), a head-up display on the windscreen, a touch-screen in the upper part of the centre console and a touch-screen between the two individual rear seats. The wood/leather steering wheel has aluminium and glass paddles with integrated touch-screens.

The touch-screen in the upper part of the centre console remains in sleep mode until the driver looks at it. A hidden infrared camera registers the eye movements and information is displayed on the screen.

Another sensor registers hand movements and triggers the Infotainment system's control mode. The possibilities vary depending on whether the screen is approached by the driver or by the front passenger.

"Certain functions, such as surfing the Web, are only accessible from the passenger side while the car is rolling. The technology knows who is the present operator and adapts itself automatically," says Peter Horbury.

The driver can "flip" data from the central touch-screen to the head-up display and can exchange data with the rear passengers. A light guide in the free-floating centre console indicates file transfer.

Unique air-powered sound system

The Infotainment system also integrates a high-end sound system from Alpine. It features the unique "FreshAir" subwoofer - a not yet released technology that uses the air outside the car to create the ultimate listening experience.

The sound system consists of small, optimised units that considerably cut weight - while still producing a better sound than today's systems.

Comfortable and cultivated

The interior is dedicated to offer design-driven customers a comfortable, cultivated, Scandinavian inspired environment that is also user-focused and refreshingly uncomplicated. Every detail has been chosen with the customer experience in focus.

The interior is driver-orientated at the front and comfortably relaxed in the rear. The dark colour scheme in the front seats fades seamlessly towards the rear until it fully transforms into a light rear seating area. The interior moulds into the rear seat and becomes part of the seating environment.

Volvo Car Corporation has partnered with several other famous brands in order to create a genuine feeling of luxury with the right Scandinavian touch.

Leather, suede and suit fabric

The four individual seats blend chrome-free leather from Bridge of Wear with Dinamica ecological suede. The off-black front seats have suede in the centre to create optimal grip. The soft beige rear seats are designed for pure comfort with leather in the centre and suede on the sides.

The Volvo You Concept design also integrates the luxurious qualities of a tailor made suit into the car. The back of the front seats and the door panels feature exclusive Italian fabric and designs from Swedish fashion house Oscar Jacobson.

The designers have also been generous with large, handcrafted pieces of walnut - accompanied by leather panels, Dinamica suede roof lining and carefully chosen aluminium details.

Hand-tufted wool carpets

The wooden floor, which echoes Scandinavian homes, is covered with a specially designed hand-tufted carpet from world-famous Swedish brand Kasthall. Just like the rest of the interior, it fades from dark in the front to light in the rear. The front texture has a sporty firmness, while the rear part of the carpet is luxuriously soft.

Inspiration from Georg Jensen

The Volvo You Concept is finished in a light blue, liquid metal paint from DuPont. The ventilated disc brakes are developed by Volvo's racing specialists Polestar.

The car's fastback silhouette is emphasised by the 21-inch polished aluminium wheels with a twisted twin-spoke design and tyres from Pirelli (275/30/21).

Up front, the Volvo You Concept grille - which has a more classic appearance than the Universe Concept - features details with the same beautifully polished craftsmanship.

"The design of the wheels, the grille and details in the innovative headlamps have been inspired by the exquisite works of world-famous Danish design house Georg Jensen. Their precious items capture the essence of Scandinavian design. Uncluttered, organic surfaces and superb craftsmanship that radiate timeless luxury," says Peter Horbury. He adds:

"This eternal beauty of Georg Jensen design is what we are aiming for with the whole concept car. Just like the finest luxury goods, this design should feel handcrafted and durable enough to stand the test of time."

mini cooper

Bentley Brooklands

Bentley Brooklands

Bentley Brooklands

The Bentley Brooklands is a stunning new model that marks the company's return to the luxury coupé market and reaffirms its reputation as creator of the world's most exclusive coupés. It is the ultimate Bentley: a stylish, four-seat, grand touring coupe with classic British proportions and muscular performance.

Bentley's chairman Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen describes the motivation behind the new coupé: "Bentley's proud sporting pedigree, forged by the exploits of the immortal 'Bentley Boys' on the famous Brooklands racetrack in the 1920s, was the inspiration for our new coupé, capturing all the style, power and splendour of that era."

Sporting design cues are matched by the phenomenal performance engineering of Bentley's legendary Crewe-built V8 engine. The new Bentley Brooklands possesses the most powerful V8 the company has ever produced - a 530bhp, twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre unit that also produces a prodigious 1050Nm of torque.

Each Bentley Brooklands coupé will be hand-assembled, employing traditional coach-building techniques and the craftsmanship skills in wood veneer and leather hide for which Bentley is renowned. To ensure exclusivity, lifetime production will be strictly limited to just 550 cars, with deliveries expected to start in the first half of 2008.

Exterior Design: Classic British Proportions

Bentley's rich coupé heritage provided the stimulus for Director of Styling, Dirk van Braeckel and his design team. For van Braeckel, the task was very clear: "To create a powerful, muscular and rakish grand touring coupé with classic British proportions, in the finest Bentley tradition."
Bentley Brooklands (2008)
2008 Bentley Brooklands

While the new Bentley Brooklands is influenced by Bentley's fine coupé lineage, its design and engineering are thoroughly contemporary. The proportions of long bonnet, short front overhang and long rear overhang achieve the design objective perfectly, while the low roofline, steeply raked screens and pillarless side glass convey both power and movement.

As the Bentley Brooklands will be built in very limited volume, the designers were able to introduce unique features that necessitate specialist coach-building techniques, as Programme Director, Ashley Wickham, reveals: "The Brooklands' beautiful flowing lines are testament to the traditional coach-building skills and craftsmanship of Crewe's highly talented workforce."

The 'floating' rear screen, for example, is a contemporary take on traditional coachbuilt Bentleys. The lower edge of the screen sits well above the upper edge of the boot lid to provide a flowing, flawless line to the back of the car. This can only be achieved by individually hand-welding the rear wings to the C-pillars.

The fitment of 20-inch diameter wheels as standard, signalling the surefooted, robust and dynamic character of the new model, reaffirms the powerful stance of the new Bentley coupé.

Interior Design: Peerless Craftsmanship with a Sporting Character

Dirk van Braeckel describes the mission for the Bentley interior design team: "To create the perfect Bentley coupé: sumptuous hand-crafted luxury with a distinctly sporting character."

As in every Bentley, peerless craftsmanship is to the fore, enhanced by the warmth and richness of the finest natural materials. To tailor for their individual requirements, customers may choose from an extensive palette of hides, veneers, carpet tones and seat belt colours.

Its four-seat architecture and deeply bolstered seats lend the Brooklands' interior a distinctly sporting atmosphere, complemented by design accents such as aluminium foot pedals and footrest. A new, single-piece, hide-trimmed roof lining flows uninterrupted from the front windscreen all the way to the rear of the car, mirroring the long, sleek profile of the elegant exterior.

The interior designers sought to offer the very highest levels of comfort and legroom, in true Bentley grand touring tradition, while the pillarless window design enhances the feeling of space.

The Bentley Brooklands' cabin is wider both front and rear than the previous Bentley Continental R coupé - the rear by 10 percent - and it easily exceeds the interior leg, knee and headroom of any luxury coupe on sale today. This allows four adults to be accommodated in supreme comfort. Individual rear seats with electrically operated sliding cushions, set further back than on the Azure, are separated by a new centre console, incorporating both storage and cup holders.

Most powerful Crewe-built V8 ever - 530bhp, 1050Nm

Beneath its muscular, rakish, coach-built body lies the most powerful Crewe-builtV8 engine ever produced, developing 530bhp. Maximum torque is an astonishing 1050Nm, the highest ever developed by a production V8 engine. Although performance figures are subject to final confirmation as part of the on-going development programme, the new Bentley coupé will deliver supercar levels of in-gear acceleration combined with Arnage refinement.

At the beginning of the project, Dr Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board, Engineering, tasked his power train specialists to deliver an extraordinary driving experience in the Bentley coupé tradition: "Exhilarating, effortless, accessible performance for those truly passionate about their driving was our prime objective."

Launched in the Bentley S2 saloon in 1959 with a capacity of 6.23 litres, the legendary, Crewe-built V8 engine has continually evolved. The first V8 was very advanced for its time with an all-aluminium construction, a five-bearing crankshaft and a well-supported camshaft, producing nearly 200bhp and 400Nm of torque. The result was a light and supple powertrain that produced maximum torque at low engine speeds, the hallmark of every Bentley ever produced.

1969 saw the capacity grow to 6.75 litres, where it remains to this day, but by far the most significant change came in 1982, with the introduction of a turbocharger to create the near-300bhp Mulsanne Turbo, a car that transformed the image of Bentley. In 1999, the single turbo engine, by now featuring port injection and charge cooling, was installed in Arnage, with twin turbos arriving in 2002, developing up to 450bhp.

For the 2007 model Arnage, the V8 engine saw a step-change in performance and refinement which became the starting point for the new Bentley Brooklands. A re-profiled camshaft and new, low-inertia turbochargers, which operate with greater efficiency at lower engine speeds have resulted in reduced turbo lag, enhancing that prodigious wave of torque at any revs, the hallmark of a true Bentley. These changes extend the power potential of the V8 in the Arnage to 500bhp and 1000Nm of torque. For the Bentley Brooklands, further component optimisation and engine calibration ensure record power and torque levels from this hand-assembled engine.

As with the latest Arnage, the V8 engine is mated to a six-speed transmission with strengthened casing that transforms the way in which both parts of the drive train communicate. A sophisticated, locking torque converter and ESP system ensure that the driver can readily access the prodigious power. A semi-automatic function allows manual gear selection for even greater driver control.

Ferrari Enzo

Ferrari Enzo

Ferrari Enzo

Ferrari regularly produces a model that represents a synthesis of its technological knowledge and its sporting experience. The Ferrari 250 LM was the first of this type of models in 1963. It was conceived by the founder especially for the owner-driver and was deliberately designed for racing. The Ferrari GTO (1984), the Ferrari F40 (1987) and for Ferrari's fiftieth anniversary the Ferrari F50 (1995) have been the significant milestones in this journey. Each of these limited edition cars had a specific technological message that enriched the performance of the model. In 2002 Luca di Montezemolo presented the Ferrari Enzo which married four consecutive years of supremacy in the Constructor's World Championship to the technical input and fine adjustment sensitivity of the World Champion Michael Schumacher.

"The Ferrari Enzo is a historic car for Ferrari for many and various reasons. Therefore we had to chose a name with a strong symbolic significance and that was the name of the Company founder," said Montezemolo. "With an F1 gearbox, a 5998 cc V12 engine, carbon and composite materials, the Ferrari Enzo, of which 399 will be built, is the perfect synthesis of four consecutive Formula 1 Championships in the last four years. This is because it is the race track itself which has been the source of the highest level of technology characterising a unique car which is absolutely innovative and represents the quintessence of Ferrari past and present and looks to the Ferrari of the future."
Ferrari Enzo (2002)
2002 Ferrari Enzo

Calling upon this wealth of knowledge, the aim was to develop a car as an integrated system aimed at achieving extreme performance. A system where even driver performance limits could be improved through a Formula 1 man/machine interface. The new Ferrari Enzo required a special and in-depth technical collaboration with Brembo, Bridgestone, Magneti Marelli and OMR.

Brembo has been constantly developing its braking systems for Ferrari for many years. Brembo production and design capacities are demonstrated by the Brembo CCM discs made of composite ceramic material used on the new Ferrari Enzo. They are exceptionally light (providing a 30% saving in weight over similar cast iron units), they provide excellent braking efficiency in all conditions and practically never wear.

The Bridgestone Corporation is a valued Ferrari supplier, providing sporting and technical know-how for its F1 tyres. For the new Ferrari Enzo, Bridgestone has specifically developed the Potenza RE050 Scuderia. A high performance tyre able to reach speeds of over 350 km/h (218 mph), whilst maintaining road-holding limits and previously unknown driving precision.

Magneti Marelli is the leader in the production of automated manual transmission systems. A successful Formula 1 collaboration has been augmented with a partnership, established in the mid nineties to develop the electro-hydraulic gear change on the Ferrari F355 Berlinetta F1. The F1 gear change concept today extends to all new Ferrari and Maserati cars. The development of the F1 gear change for the Ferrari Enzo represented a most fascinating challenge, due to its closeness to the perennial challenge faced by the F1 single seater.

OMR (Officine Meccaniche Rezzatesi), has developed an exclusive pedal platform for the Ferrari Enzo. It features aluminium accelerator and brake pedals and has been designed to be adjustable in sixteen different positions to achieve the best driving performance and ergonomics.