Volvo has unleashed a slew of photos and details of its very promising all-new 2011 S60 sedan that will make its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on 2 March. The premium model, which is aimed directly at cars like the Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class, is described by Volvo as the firm's most dynamic car ever produced, not only in terms of styling but also in terms of driving characteristics.
Even though the design has been toned down a notch from the S60 study model in the 2009 Detroit Show, it remains very close to the original concept.
Inside, the styling is equally refreshing with Volvo's designers paying extra attention to details and the choice of materials. The Swedes also claim that it's more spacious that its predecessor, offering 30mm more knee room for the rear passengers while boot opening has been made 107 mm wider than in the previous S60.
The new sedan can be specified with a choice of two chassis, Dynamic and Comfort, with the differences in the dampers and the front and rear subframes. In Europe, the newly developed dynamic chassis is standard, while most markets in North America and Asia will have the comfort chassis as standard with the sport variant available as an option.
At launch, the car will be available with two diesel and two gasoline units with three more petrol and one diesel to follow later on. I will touch on the gasoline options since they are more relevant to the Singapore market.
The most powerful gasoline engine is the 3.0-liter T6 petrol with 304HP and 440 Nm of torque. It is combined with standard AWD and second-generation six-speed automatic Geartronic transmission. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 6.5 seconds and top speed is 250 km/h. The new four-cylinder 2.0 GTDi (Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection) engine produces 203HP and 300Nm with acceleration from 0-100 km/h taking 7.7 seconds for the manual gearbox while the automatic version takes 8.2 seconds. The top speed figures are 235km/h and 230 km/h for the manual and automatic versions respectively. A 1.6-litre GTDi engine available in 180HP and 150HP configurations will be offered later on during the first year of production. All the GTDi gasoline engines will be available in combination with Volvo's automatic six-speed Powershift transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox.
Interior photos of the new S60 can be found below. The compact luxury sector is set to be spiced up again!
Volvo, S60, powershift, 1.6 Turbo
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