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Volvo C70 Coupe/Convertible. UK Overview

23 January 2006

  • Available to order now and expected in showrooms from mid-March 2006, with deliveries to customers from April.
  • A premium coupe that converts to a convertible in 30 seconds.
  • The first premium coupe/convertible with three piece retractable hard top offering better security and quieter interior than a soft top, with space to seat four adults.
  • Safety: world-first door mounted inflatable curtain, plus ROPS (Roll Over Protection System) and zoned front, side and rear structures, high strength steel A-pillars and SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) for effective crash deformation - even without a fixed roof.
  • Three trim levels: Sport, SE and SE Lux.
  • Prices range from £26,200 for the 2.4i Sport to £33,225 for the T5 SE Lux.
  • High standard specifications include minimum of: 17in alloy wheels, ECC (Electronic Climate Control), cruise control, DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control), performance audio system with CD, leather sports steering wheel with remote audio controls and front fog lights.
  • High quality Dynaudio® audio system available with up to 910W of power.
  • Two five-cylinder petrol engines: 2.4i (170bhp) and T5 (220bhp).
  • A five-cylinder D5 (180bhp) diesel engine to follow in mid 2006.
  • High torsional rigidity with excellent ride and handling characteristics.
  • Insurance group ratings confirmed: 15E-17E.

Overview
The all new Volvo C70 is two cars in one – a coupé and a convertible – with room to seat four adults in comfort. It is also the first of its kind in the premium sector with a three-piece retractable steel roof which, at the press of a button, folds up or down in 30 seconds or less.

Volvo expects to double its annual sales of the new C70 to 16,000 globally, and to over 3,000 in the UK. The USA is expected to account for 50 per cent of C70 customers, with the UK and Germany the next most successful accounting for a further 25 per cent of total sales.

Design concept
Volvo's designers have ensured that the all new Volvo C70 follows its latest, modern design trends of rounded front corners and shoulders with shapely rear lights, while ensuring it looks just as attractive and desirable with the roof up or down.

The design and development of the folding roof has taken place in collaboration with Pininfarina in Turin, Italy. It will still be built at the Uddevalla plant in Sweden, but in conjunction with Pininfarina – Pininfarina Sverige AB – its first joint venture and the first time Pininfarina has built a car in another country.

Although slightly shorter and lower than its predecessor, the all new Volvo C70 is longer, wider and taller than both its key (soft top) rivals, the BMW 3-Series and the Audi A4 cabriolet¹.

The boot lid for the all new Volvo C70 is cleverly designed to open in two opposite directions – either backwards while the roof folding mechanism is operating, or forwards as normal to load luggage.

The C70 offers a generous 400-litre boot capacity with the roof up, or 200-litres with the roof down, while to aid loading and unloading when the roof is stored in the boot, the roof panels can be electronically lifted by 200mm. In addition, a ski-hatch in the rear seat allows longer items to be carried inside the car, plus the front passenger seat also folds forward.

Driving Dynamics
The body structure of the all new Volvo C70 is fully reinforced to compensate for the lack of a fixed roof which not only provides extra safety, but also gives the body very high torsional rigidity for excellent ride and handling characteristics.

The chassis for the all new C70 also helps improve its driving dynamics with a front track of 1550mm (29mm wider than the previous model), and rear track of 1560mm (39mm wider), while the wheelbase is 2640mm (24mm shorter).

Front-wheel drive, MacPherson front suspension and a Multilink rear axle, combine with a broad track and long wheelbase to make the all new Volvo C70 extremely stable and compliant, with electro-hydraulic steering for improved feel and response.

The engine line-up offers a choice of two Volvo petrol engines² – a 2.4i and T5 – which are both transversely mounted, in-line, five-cylinder units. These will be followed by a five-cylinder, 180bhp D5 turbo diesel in mid-2006.

The 2.4i is a normally aspirated, long stroke 2435cc engine with four-valve technology and double overhead camshafts producing 170bhp, 230Nm of torque with CO2 emissions of 215 g/km and 0-62mph possible in just over nine seconds.

The T5 engine tops the range for performance with its 2521cc low pressure turbo engine offering 220bhp with the added flexibility provided by 320Nm of torque from as low as 1500rpm with CO2 emissions of 217g/km. The engine offers highly responsive performance across the rev range, with 0-62mph possible in 7.6 seconds.

Quality and equipment
There are three trim levels for the new Volvo C70: Sport, SE and SE Lux, with prices³ ranging from £26,200 for the 2.4i Sport, to £33,225 for the T5 SE Lux.

Volvo typically offers higher levels of standard equipment compared to its other premium brand rivals, as demonstrated by the comprehensive specification levels of the all new C70.

Sport models include ECC (Electronic Climate Control), 17in polished or 18in alloy wheels, DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control), cruise control, information centre, power windows, leather sports steering wheel and gear knob with aluminium inserts, steering wheel remote audio controls, aluminium trim, leather/T-Tec sports upholstery, performance sound radio/CD audio system with 6-speakers and 4x20W amplifier, power adjustable and heated door mirrors, and front fog lights.

In addition, SE models also gain a power driver's seat, leather upholstery, autodimming rear view mirror, wood trim and a high performance 6xCD/radio audio system with 8-speakers and 4x40W amplifier.

SE Lux models top the all new Volvo C70 range with a premium sound 6xCD/radio audio system with Dolby Pro Logic II Surround Sound™ and 12 Dynaudio® speakers with a total 910 watt output (4x130W + 1x130W amplifier and 2x130W subwoofer), larger 18in alloy wheels, power folding door mirrors with ground lights, and power passenger seat.

Volvo is one of the few manufacturers to develop its own sound system and components to suit each car and is introducing a high quality digital amplifier for the all new C70.

DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology is used to adapt the sound to the design of the car's interior and positioning of the speakers to create a natural sound quality. Volume and tone settings are adjusted according to the car's speed, and when the roof is up or down, to ensure the same sound experience regardless of the conditions. The personal settings menu offers three choices of sound adjustment according to the car's speed: low, medium or high.

Dynaudio® produces speakers for home use and professional studios and, as a result, the Dynaudio® speakers in the all new Volvo C70's Premium Sound system are extremely high quality. The bass drivers are 8in with powerful 3in voice coils and silk dome tweeters – a Dynaudio® speciality that helps produce a cleaner sound. To achieve even deeper, richer bass tones, there is the option of dual 8in subwoofers with class D amplifiers producing 130W each mounted behind the rear seats.

Security
The all new Volvo C70 has also been designed with security in mind, whether the roof is up or down.

Obviously, a retractable hard top offers improved safety compared to other soft-top rivals and every model features an anti-theft alarm including immobiliser and volume sensor as standard. In addition, Volvo's Home Safe and Approach lighting which will light the headlights for an agreed length of time to illuminate your path from the car, or conveniently turn on the side and interior lights on approaching the car to show it is secure and safe to enter.

Safety
Volvo has developed the all new C70 to be one of the safest convertibles available.

The lack of fixed roof has been compensated for with reinforcements and sophisticated technology, including the world-first of a door mounted inflatable curtain that inflates upwards (instead of being released from the roof as in the rest of the Volvo range). The curtain has an extra stiff construction with double rows of slats to help them remain upright to provide effective head protection, even if the window is down, and deflates slowly in case the car has rolled over during the accident.

In case the car does roll over, the all new Volvo C70 has strong A-pillars hydro-formed in extra strength steel designed to withstand very high forces and also run all the way down to the body sills.

To compensate for the lack of permanent B and C-pillars, Volvo has further developed its ROPS (Roll Over Protection System) from the system introduced in the previous generation Volvo C70 convertible. The powerful metal bars that pop up behind the rear seats have been strengthened and react quicker.

Volvo's SIPS (Side Impact Protection System) has also been developed further to compensate for the lack of the usual B-pillar and roof structure that would usually help to absorb any side impact. Instead, engineers at the Volvo Safety Centre have designed five powerful transverse floor members along the car which interact with a system of other reinforcements to channel the impact forces forwards, backwards and downwards to keep the passenger compartment as intact as possible.

The doors are reinforced with a diagonally mounted steel profile to help prevent intrusions into the passenger compartment, while transverse members at the front together with a horseshoe-shaped member behind the rear seats channel forces to opposite sides of the car. Finally, a patented front structure is divided into zones using different strength steel to provide controlled deformation.

The rounded front shape of the car helps reduce the risk of injury to other road users and pedestrians, while the front area around the grille has a soft, energy-absorbing structure to counteract the risk of leg injuries, and the bonnet and front wings are designed to absorb energy and contribute to reducing other injuries.

The all new Volvo C70 also provides effective protection in the event of rear-end collisions. Apart from Volvo's WHIPS (Whiplash Protection System) in the front seats that helps reduce whiplash injuries by moving the seat with the occupant to absorb the forces during the impact, Volvo has also designed rear longitudinal members that deform in a controlled way and are linked to the body sills to distribute forces forwards around the car. The ROPS bars are also pushed upwards during a rear impact to protect any rear passengers from any flying objects from the vehicle behind.

Volvo also has important safety features to help prevent accidents happening in the first place, including DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control) and ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and automatic emergency brake assistance (EBA) to maximise the all new Volvo C70's stopping power. Also, IDIS (Intelligent Driver Information System) constantly monitors certain functions within the car, such as steering wheel movement, acceleration, indicators and braking, and at a certain level of activity the system holds back any information that is not crucial to safety (eg. incoming telephone calls if fitted with an integrated phone) so the driver is not unnecessarily distracted, and held until a safer moment.

All new Volvo C70 dimensions:

  All new Volvo C70

Previous generation Volvo C70

BMW 3-Series convertible Audi A4 cabriolet
Length mm 4580 4716 4488 4573
Width mm 1820 1817 1757 1777
Height mm 1410 1429 1372 1391
Wheelbase mm 2640 2664 2725 2654
Track, front mm 1550 1521 1471 1523
Track, rear mm 1560 1518 1483 1523
Boot capacity, litres (roof up/down) 400/200 223/223 300/260 315/246


2. All new Volvo C70 technical specifications:

All new Volvo C70 2.4i T5
Engine 2435cc, 5 cylinders, 20v, petrol 2521cc, 5 cylinders, 20v, petrol
Power 170bhp 220bhp
Torque 230Nm at 4400rpm 320Nm at 1500rpm
Top speed (mph) 137 manual/134 Geartronic 150 manual/146 Geartronic
0-62mph (seconds) 9.1 manual/10.0 Geartronic 7.6 manual/8.0 Geartronic
CO2 emissions (g/km) 215 manual/229 Geartronic 217 manual/234 Geartronic
Insurance group 15E Sport/SE, 16E SE Lux 17E Sport/SE/SE Lux
Transmission 5-speed manual/5-speed G'tronic 6-speed manual/5-speed G'tronic
Combined mpg  31.4 manual/29.4 Geartronic 31.0 manual/28.8 Geartronic
 Kerbweight (kg) 1691 manual/1715 Geartronic 1711 manual/1725 Geartronic

All new Volvo C70 prices (on the road):

  2.4i T5
Sport £26,200 £29,475
SE £27,450  £30,725
SE Lux £29,950 £33,225

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