In early 2001, Volvo Cars took a major step into the future.
The main theme of the Volvo Safety Concept Car (SCC) was “superior visibility”. However, the car also featured technology to boost personal safety, as well as improved passive safety systems.
The SCC thus highlighted a new dimension in research and development in the field of car safety.
The Volvo Safety Concept Car was a vision of the safety features that car buyers may enjoy in the future – and already today more than half the safety solutions shown in the SCC have become part of Volvo’s production models or are scheduled for introduction in the near future.
Built for the eye
The Volvo Safety Concept Car is built for the eye. This does not primarily refer to its appealing design but rather to the fact that all the engineering and design work focused on the driver’s eyes, thus creating the potential for better visibility.
When the driver gets behind the wheel, a sensor registers the position of his or her eyes. The seat then automatically adjusts to the appropriate setting for the driver’s eyes so the driver benefits from the best possible visibility. Once seat adjustment is completed, the floor, pedals, steering wheel, centre console and gear lever all move to positions that put these controls within convenient reach.
The driver thus gets the best possible overview of what is happening both outside the car and in the instrument panel.