Volvo Reveals 2015 XC90 Sketches and Details Ahead of L.A. Auto Show

compiled by: Swedespeed

Nov 16, 2011 - 10:29:00 AM

The Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center's choice as location for a media presentation ahead of this week's L.A. Auto Show may not seem like the most obvious choice. As an active design studio and center for the development of future concepts, you'd think there'd be plenty Volvo wouldn't want an eagle-eyed journo examining just yet. To Volvo's management though, the space was perfect for showing off the company's future. And while we've already reported on the more macro details from the event, it was the focus on the next-generation XC90 that really got our attention.

Introduced in 2002, the XC90 has proven itself a runaway hit for Volvo despite only subtle evolutionary and facelift changes in the decade since its launch. In some ways the XC90 mirrors the iconic Volvo 240 wagon - both highly versatile vehicles that soldiered on for years with continued owner loyalty, buying one after another because of its high degree of versatility and subtly handsome appearance. In truth, the XC90's success is part of the reason it had not yet been replaced and as the Ford Motor Company shopped for buyers for its Swedish subsidiary, lack of funds in order to show a profit on the books meant the solid-selling XC90 would have to soldier on. And it did.


As with the 240 though, the cycle must begin again and Volvo Cars have just such a plan for the XC90. An entirely new modular architecture will allow the XC90 to achieve new levels of efficiency while allowing Volvo to retain its place as the world’s safety leader. The XC90's new architecture goes by the acronym SPA, for Scalable Platform Architecture - the very same component set upon which all future Volvos will come to reside. SPA-based cars will use a combination of steel and aluminum to achieve high strength and reduced weight goals and the first new Volvo to take advantage of SPA will be the XC90 when it arrives in 2015.


Design drawings shown at the Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center presentation reveal a radical stylistic departure from the current XC90. Some shots do show familiar cues like the sloping C-pillar, though others adopt the latest brand cues as seen with the YOU concept that was also on display.