Volvo does not build many cars like the Volvo SCC: a 5-door hatchback coupe, built from 2001 in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Its designer of record is Stefan Jansson.
The background
The Volvo Safety Concept Car (SCC) is an ESV concept car. The SCC incorporates the rear hatch design from Volvo P1800ES and the glass hatch from Volvo 480ES. The interior design is similar to the S40 and V50; the majority of parts including the instrument panel, 'floating' centre stack and steering wheel are shared by the three cars. Its doors open in a manner of front conventional doors and rear small sliding doors.
The vehicle was unveiled in the 2001 Detroit Auto Show, and later in Seville International Airport in southern Spain in Autumn. Production model of C30 was planned in 2002. The car was the first and, to date, the only car to have an experimental criss cross seatbelt. Design elements from the car were later used in the Volvo C30, which went into production in the end of 2006.
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a 5-door hatchback coupe — and the layout: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
Where it sits
On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Honda Fit, the Porsche Cayenne, the Citroën C3. Its Volvo stablemates include the Volvo 144 and the Volvo 264 TE.