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From Swedespeed.com Events Coverage Every March, the eyes of the auto industry turn to Switzerland, where the self-described land of neutrality puts on one of the most radical of industry auto shows. The Geneva Motor Show, the first major European event of the year, breaks from the traditional by adding to its mix of mainstream car manufacturers a heavy dose of specialty niche manufacturers, independent, mostly Italian design houses, prominent European tuning firms and more. In a down market when many marques are either in jeopardy of fire sale or wholesale extinction, the exotic Geneva Motor Show can serve as both a beacon of the future and a warning of present market dangers.
Ahead of the event, Geneva’s organizers touted no less than 85 world premieres throughout the Geneva Palexpo’s seven exhibition halls during the March 2-3 press days. Following this, the show opened to the public from March 5-15. For Volvo, Geneva shows the brand continuing on despite an uncertain future. Ford still has the Swedish carmaker up for sale and monthly sales figures continue to slide, but the model evolution continues on with a subtle freshening of the S80.
As face-lifts go, the S80’s evolved design is about as conservative as they come. The nose is a bit more menacing and includes DRLs that ape the light signature V-accented lights on the XC60. On the grille, the out-of-the-box style corporate iron mark is also bolder.
Inside the cockpit, changes are more obvious. A new aluminum-look accented four-spoke steering wheel is a handsome change, as is aluminum segmentation on Volvo’s trademark center stack.
Volvo has updated its D5 engine range to coincide with the new S80 hitting market, though this won’t affect the North American market for now. With the updates, there are two flavors of D5. The first, a twin-turbo 2.4 I5, boasts 205 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque and is rated at the European equivalent of 38 mpg (5.8l / 100 km EU combined). The second is a less powerful, more efficient 2.4-liter with 175 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, rated at 40.5 mpg (5.8l / 100 km EU combined).
In addition to the new S80, Volvo Ocean Race XC90 and XC70 models as well as DRIVe models figured prominently on the Volvo stand. With budgets crunched, Volvo chose to show off Detroit’s S60 Concept as the only design prototype.
Elsewhere in the show, Volvo’s Blue Ovaled owners displayed the 300-hp, Volvo-motored Focus RS. The Focus is way too boy racer for the Volvo brand, but its capable engine and drivetrain would be a welcomed addition to Volvo’s C30, S40 or V50 for an affordable (developmentally speaking) new R model to help bring interest to the line in a receding market.
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