Volvo C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe R-Design

Trying to be safe, sporty and a little stylish? Volvo wants to remind that there is more to Swedish style than what’s found in an Ikea store. It’s showing a conservative wild side with the R-Design line of appearance packaging.

Press release after the jump.

Press release

Having good environmental properties doesn’t mean a car has to be boring. Quite the contrary: with R-Design, the Volvo C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe can be styled just as expressively and exclusively as the other model variants.

Responding to the substantial demand for cars that combine good environmental properties with exciting design features, Volvo Cars is now offering the C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe models with optional R-Design features.

This development has been made possible by the continued optimisation of the cars’ drivelines. The new C30, S40 and V50 1.6D DRIVe all beat the 120g CO2/km limit (119 g for all three models) - even without the previous exterior modifications designed to cut air drag, such as special body and underbody panels and spoilers.

"We’ve succeeded in reducing the fuel consumption and CO2 levels of these DRIVe models by more than we initially believed possible. This has created sufficient margin to equip the cars with the R-Design package and still beat the 120g/km emission limit in all models," explains Magnus Jonsson, Senior Vice President, Product Development at Volvo Cars.

R-Design for C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe

The R-Design package allows customers to choose between 10 body colours and it also includes a number of specially designed exterior and interior details.

Exterior:

• Body kit with front and rear spoilers, lower door trim and side-skirts
• Roof spoiler on the C30 and V50 and lip spoiler on the boot of the S40
• 90 mm sports tailpipe, C30 only
• 17-inch five-spoke Serapis aluminium wheels
• Grille and door mirror housings in silk metal finish

Interior:

• Upholstery with seating surfaces in cream-coloured leather, sides in off-black Flex-Tec and embossed R-Design logo in the front seats
• R-Design centre stack and panel inlays
• Gear lever knob trimmed in leather and aluminium
• Sports pedals in aluminium, with inlaid rubber strips
• Sports steering wheel trimmed in leather, with R-Design emblem
• Blue instrument dials for speedometer and tachometer
• Textile floor mats with contrasting edging

At the front there are special DRIVe wind deflectors and an additional R-Design badge, and at the rear the DRIVe badge announces the car’s low emission levels.

The chassis is 10 mm lower. The lower ground clearance reduces fuel consumption at the same time as the chassis setting generates more direct road feel and more responsive steering.

DRIVe - the cars with the best environmental performance

Volvo’s DRIVe badge is attached to cars that offer the very best environmental performance in their class. All today’s DRIVe models are equipped with a conventional diesel engine and manual gearbox optimised for extra-low fuel consumption.