Volvo’s Adventure Concept Car has become reality as a new-generation SUV, the XC90, which will be unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show on January 7, 2002. The passenger car-based, all-wheel-drive Volvo XC90 is the top-of-the-line model in the Swedish carmaker’s new XC-range. The new SUV offers turbocharged engines, an “innovative” interior and up to seven forward-facing seats. Trademark design elements such as the V-shaped hood and the pronounced shoulders have been combined with a powerful stance and modern design featuring gently rounded, elegant lines. “We wanted the car to look masculine and confident, but not macho,” said Peter Horbury Volvo vice president and chief designer. The functional design in combination with efficient packaging and transverse engines gives the new Volvo XC90 the necessary preconditions for a high degree of flexibility and versatility. “Being first in the next generation of SUVs allows us to set new standards for safety and functionality in the segment,” says Hans Wikman, project director. Developed on Volvo’s large-car platform, the all-wheel-drive XC90 combines off-road capability with what Volvo claims is “excellent” road-going performance. The Volvo XC90 can be specified with a choice of 5-cylinder or 6-cylinder gasoline engines. Both engines are turbocharged. In European markets, a 6-cylinder turbocharged diesel is also offered. Production of the new car will start in 2002 at the Torslanda factory in Goteborg on Sweden’s west coast, where Volvo Cars is concentrating the production of all its larger models. The North American market is expected to account for about 65 percent of total Volvo XC90 sales.