1999 Volvo V70 Xc on 2040-cars

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Volvo C30 Polestar Concept hits the 'Ring

It's been over three years since the Volvo C30 Polestar Concept was unveiled, driven by journalists and, as it turns out, lapped around the Nürburgring with Scandinavian Touring Car Championship driver Robert Dahlgren behind the wheel. For whatever reason, the video of the 'Ring track session was only published by the tuning company yesterday. (Another discrepancy: Did Polestar's C30 lose 46 horsepower somewhere along the line? Because the video states that it has 405 hp, while the company's website quotes 451 hp...)
Whatever the case, the tuned Volvo is a beast, much more so than the similar-looking, 250-hp 2013 Volvo C30 Polestar Limited Edition that was sold last year. With 451 hp (sounds better than 405 hp, doesn't it?), all-wheel drive, limited-slip differentials front and rear and Öhlins dampers, the Polestar Concept checks all of the right boxes for us.
For some reason, the video, which you can watch below, seems a bit vanilla to us. Perhaps the overly dramatic music takes away from the action and the beautiful sounds of the turbocharged five-cylinder engine?

Volvo shows glimpses of new Concept C Coupe ahead of Frankfurt [w/video]

Volvo has released a short teaser video for a concept car that will be unveiled on August 29 ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show. At first glance, it would appear to be nothing more than a few sketches and some words from Volvo design boss Thomas Ingenlath, but at about the 11-second mark, four images are flashed on the screen revealing the true nature of the video - the Volvo Concept C Coupe.
As Inglenlath suggests in the video, this new concept is designed to help bring more excitement to the brand's lineup, and from what we can tell in these strategically captured shots, the company is definitely on to something. While we don't get too much of look from any one angle, the front reveals what appears to be a concave version of Volvo's signature grille and the side shows off a stylish greenhouse. We have to wonder, do these images confirm the identity of the mystery concept car that's been floating around the Internet this week? In either case, our favorite view is perhaps the rear shot giving us a glimpse of the car's name as well as its flat, wide haunches and C-shaped taillights.
Scroll down to watch the whole video, and if you don't have a trigger-quick mouse finger, don't worry. We made a gallery of screen shots showing the four embedded images.

Volvo Pure Tension concept folds solar charging pavilion into trunk

Even by the 'anything-goes' standards of concept cars, this one is a head-spinner: the "Pure Tension" Volvo V60 Pavilion, commissioned by Volvo Italy and winner of the Pure Volvo Pavilion Design competition. The alien form seen hovering all over the rendered V60 is a pavilion, as in the kind erected for trade shows or outdoor events. Developed by Synthesis Design + Architecture, Buro Happold, and Fabric Images, the pavilion is a flexible mesh structure held in place by a carbon fiber rods.
What's more, the mesh is embedded with photovotaic cells so that the pavilion can absorb energy from the sun or indoor lighting, making it a portable charging station. It can power itself or the crossover, the V60 at the center of it all being a diesel hybrid that plugs straight into the pavilion. When it's time to go, the entire structure can be folded small enough to fit in the trunk of the car.
We're told it will be shown in September in Rome. Even if we never see this particular creation on the streets, it's comfortable proof that our future will eventually be wilder than we can imagine.