Volvo S60/V70R Dials
That time when sensible Volvo suddenly went dial crazy
Turquoise paintwork, burnt orange leather and a bright blue intake cover; read on a spec sheet, the press vehicles Volvo decided to give journalists upon the launch of the hot rod S60 and V70R models could have been a Swedish April Fool joke.
Launched in an era of big engines, the hot Volvo pair were designed to take a swipe at rivals like the Audi S4 and BMW M3, but with an extra layer of Swedish sensibleness. In absolute performance terms the Volvo pairing didn’t quite stack up, but they did allow Volvo designers a bit of creative freedom not previously enjoyed.
The height of this are a set of dials that could have been straight out of an Aston Martin. Sat within the usual Volvo cluster, the design team decided to turn the dial faces a deep and lustrous blue, contrasting brightly with the more mundane grey plastics surrounding them.
The reason they looked so different to the normal instruments was that like a museum exhibit, Volvo decided to up- and down-light the dials rather than just back-light them. When contrasted with the optional orange Atacama leather and ‘Spaceball’ manual gear stick, these R models were an example of sensible Volvo letting their hair down, hopefully something that the rumoured Polestar hybrid monsters will rekindle in their future line-up.