Feature Cars
Feature Car: Volvo's Hot-Rod C70
By by: Lee Cordner & Drew Seaver
May 1, 2003, 19:36

Volvo has a top-secret installation, the Monitoring and Concept Center, in Camarillo, CA, a little north of Los Angeles.  The small shop in a suburban industrial development doesn’t even say Volvo on the door.  The only hint is a bunch of new Volvos in the parking lot, some of which, to the trained eye, look a little different.  I initially became aware of the Concept Center when I met Cleve Mason at a press event at Volvo HQ in Irvine.  Cleve was driving a very cool new dark blue C70 that was lowered, had great wheels and huge brakes. 

He was delivering the car to some guys from European Car magazine, in hopes they would write an article about it.  I asked some questions about the car and said that I would like to write about it for Rolling.  He said I could borrow it as soon as European Car finished with it.  We kept in touch via e-mail and when the car became available we made arrangements for me to pick it up.

Cleve met me at the Burbank Airport with one of the center’s cars, a V40 with some appearance tricks and big wheels and brakes.  We headed for the concept center to pick up the C70.  Cleve launched the little wagon onto the freeway via an uphill curving on-ramp and it became pretty clear this was not a stock V40.  I figured if they could make a V40 do what I was experiencing, the C70 should be something truly fine.  I was right.

At the Concept Center, I met Cleve’s boss, Lars Lundin, VP and General Manger of the center.  I had fantasies of touring the facility and seeing the secret projects inside, but no luck.  Lars was charming and knowledgeable (we talked about racing 240s, of course) but didn’t invite me in.  Just as well, as I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on the C70.  We made arrangements for me to return the car in four days and then said good-bye.



This was really interesting for me.  I have a 1998 C70 coupe that is modified, but not nearly as much as this one.  I installed all the IPD upgrades on my car, including the lowering springs, Bilstein shocks, cat-back exhaust, strut brace, engine management chip, sway bars, K&N air filter.

The first things I noticed about the car were the subtle differences between the new C70s and the older models.  The steering wheel in the new car is much thicker and more comfortable to hold, the new drivers side mirror is divided into straight and convexsections.  It is really great once you get used to it. The biggest improvement is the new car’s five speed automatic transmission.  Other than these refinements, the cars are very similar.  I felt right at home.  As I started to drive, I noticed the level of the SuperSprint exhaust noise to be quite a bit louder than the IPD one on my car.  This is particularly true at full throttle, when the car really roars.  I liked the sound, but it was a little intrusive at highway speeds. 

The IPD cat back system is quieter.  The suspension is stiff, and bumps are very noticeable.  All the positive characteristics of the C70 remain intact.  The stock 11 speaker sound system is incredible and the car has all the amenities you would expect, cruise control, climate control, digital readouts for temperature, fuel consumption, average speed, etc.  It is refined and elegant and carries four passengers quite easily.  The back seat is hard to get into, but once you are in, there is a surprising amount of room.  I am 6’-2” and I have plenty of head and legroom in the back seat.



Straight line performance is very good.  The car will never be a drag racer, as it is heavy and the turbo motor doesn’t develop enough low end torque to produce one of those tire torturing launches from the line, but 0-60 comes in a very quick 5.8 seconds with a respectable 14.1 second quarter mile at 104 mph.   The really impressive stuff comes when you floor the pedal at about 70 mph.  The car downshifts to third and just takes off.  By the time you collect yourself, ascertain that you are still pointed straight and have time to look at the speedometer you are going over 100.  You need to be careful when passing!  The ticket could be really grim.

The big brakes are fade free as far as I could tell. I have had my C70 in a couple of track days and the brakes really are the weak link for hard driving. I obviously didn't have a chance to drive this car on a track, but I did do a series of 70-0 hard stops. That would cause some fade on my car, but I did not notice any change in the braking effort or performance after 3 or 4 hard stops.

I let a couple of people drive the car, one a LA County Sheriff deputy who is used to driving fast cars on LA freeways. His comment, after setting the worlds record for accelerating into a carpool lane, was, "this thing gets to 100 pretty fast". The other guy has a new V70 with the newer "auto-stick" 5 speed automatic. He said he liked the transmission in his car better, but liked the C-70s power. I also met Bill Webb, famous P1800 guy, for dinner in West LA. He drove the car a little bit, too. It is no1800, but I think he liked it alright.



This C70 is the perfect Southern California car. At freeway speed it seems to be poised to leap forward at the slightest driver input. The suspension is stiff, but not uncomfortable and the car handles well in typical driving situations and makes directional changes with no body lean or sway. With the traction control turned off, it is very easy to spin the wheels while cornering, or when the transmission upshifts. With the traction control on, you get the little "tracs" light on the dashboard intermittently when you push the car in street driving conditions.

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