Volvo is making waves in Geneva this week with the stunning Concept Estate that made its debut here at the Geneva Auto Show. The Swedish manufacturer pulls out an intriguing set of building blocks: a ‘shooting brake’ two-door sport-wagon body style; a relaxed, informal interior; and a completely new interface.
From the long, low hood, concave upright grille, and subtle sculpting in the hood, to the somewhat more overt flares at the rear wheels, it all adds up to a model that speaks performance. It’s a classy look, and it doesn’t take any imagination to see that the rear-end design was set to echo that of the much-loved 1800 ES—also a shooting brake—of the early 1970s. While the interior of the Volvo Concept Estate looks very much like that of a concept car as a whole—with telltale thin seats—other elements, like its instrument panel, look remarkably close to production form.
One of those is of course front and center, where an Apple CarPlay–based system will bring more of an iPad-like experience into the car—including the ability to use a range of voice-activated Siri functions by only pressing a voice-command button. A beautiful capacitive screen is also part of this production-bound system.
Volvo uses some Swedish details inside, including a Orrefors/Kosta Boda crystal gear lever, lit with an orange glow, while Kasthall woven-wool carpets also keep to the orange theme—as do bright orange seatbelts. The headliner is done in checkered black-and-white wool, and the instrument panel is covered in Tärnsjö saddle leather.
