Volvo Car Corporation will unveil the 2011 C30 at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15, revealing a vehicle with a new front end and a sharper sport chassis with the optional R-Design package. The C30 is a two-door premium compact with a glass hatch and seating for four. The vehicle will become available in Canada in the first half of 2010 and prices will be announced closer to on-sale date.
The Volvo C30 is designed to appeal to customers who spend most of their time in the city and who impose considerable demands on the car's design, driving properties and personality.
"Since its introduction in 2006, the Volvo C30 has become highly appreciated for its unique appearance," says Daniel Backman, Product Manager for the new Volvo C30. "This applies in particular to the rear. With the new front, it feels as though everything has fallen neatly into place and that the car's entire personality has been boosted to an entirely new level. The new exterior is also a better match for the way the C30 drives - challenging, direct and with a whole lot of attitude."
Major exterior changes
The mid-cycle update of the Volvo C30 is more comprehensive than usual for Volvo Cars. The entire front has been redesigned, including body panels such as the front fenders. This gives the car a new appearance from the front, carving out a distinctive personality and more clearly separates the new C30 from the Volvo S40 and V50.
"By integrating greater depth into the design language, the front has become more dramatic and expressive," says Fedde Talsma, Exterior Chief Designer at Volvo Cars. "Along with the angled lines of the front bumper, the new headlamps, drawn offset and up, reinforce the impression of speed and sportiness."
Featuring prominently is a new grille with a unique pattern and a larger iron mark logo. The air intake has also grown in size to resemble the intake in the XC60.
"The fact that the C30 has enhanced its visual volume and self-confidence is entirely in line with Volvo Cars' design strategy. At the same time, the C30 has a one of a kind expression. The new honeycomb grille, for instance, means it takes just a quick glance in the rear-view mirror to see that the car filling your view is the new Volvo C30," continues Talsma.
Although the biggest design changes have taken place at the front, the rear also sports the same deep new lines and detailing. The contours are wavier and more dynamic than before. The lower black plastic panels have been replaced with more body colour to forge a closer visual contact between the car and the road surface. The tailpipes are also now more clearly visible.
Minor interior update
The optional luggage compartment cover in the rear uses a new material and a new graphic pattern to further enhance the car's modern image.
New sport chassis for R-Design
The sport chassis for the C30's optional R-Design is considerably sharper, with stiffer, more distinct properties than the car previously offered. The steering is more precise with stiffer bushings and a reduced steering ratio by 10 percent for faster response to steering wheel input. Spring stiffness has been increased by 30 percent in order to increase the car's poise in enthusiastic driving. The dampers are also stiffer and are now of the exclusive mono-tube type that builds pressure much more quickly. The roll stabilizers are stiffer to reduce any leaning tendency when taking corners.
The new sport chassis has made the C30 R-Design a better-balanced and more agile car. Road contact is more distinct and feedback from the wheels is faster and clearer. While this improves the driving experience, it also enhances safety.
"The driver should feel confident that the car will behave exactly as expected," says Sällqvist, manager Vehicle Dynamics at Volvo Cars. "That is an important part of our safety focus when we develop a new chassis. This feeling of security also means the driver can fully enjoy the sporty driving characteristics."
Volvo Cars' chassis experts have put the new C30 R-Design through a regime of intensive tests throughout Europe: on narrow, twisting lanes in England; at high speed on the German autobahn; and on icy winter roads in the very north of Scandinavia.
C30 R-Design - an overview
The R-Design package allows customers to enhance the visual volume of the C30. The package adds a number of features.
Exterior:
Interior:
Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. is part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Göteborg, Sweden. The company provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to the 41 Volvo automobile retailers across the country. The company's product range includes the stylish and sporty C30, the elegant C70 hardtop convertible, the compact S40 sedan, the S80 flagship sedan and the versatile V50 and V70 wagons. For customers looking for a Volvo vehicle with all-road capability, the company offers the versatile XC60 crossover - equipped with City Safety as standard equipment - as well as the XC70 and XC90.
- 30 -
Media Web site:
http://www.media.volvocars.com/ca/
Contact:
Chad Heard
Marshall Fenn Communications
Office: 416-962-3366 x267
Mobile: 416-451-3204
E-mail: chadh@marshall-fenn.com
Erin Farquharson
Marshall Fenn Communications
Office: 416-962-3366 x254
E-mail: erinf@marshall-fenn.com
