The quest for advanced safety and efficiency-boosting methods has been a very powerfully driven one in recent years, with the noticeable shift in climate often being attributed to our reckless use of putrefied and liquefied dinosaur bones and trees.
However, while most manufacturers have jumped on the green train in recent years, many times for the sake of image than anything else, it was Volvo yet again that showed us the efficient way forward, more than 30 years ago.
Their 1983 answer to the problem of efficient transport was the LCP 2000, a concept designed as an efficient solution to getting around, and one which would still be viable in the year 2000.
The idea started in 1979, and the engineers working on the project set themselves some very strict guidelines, especially for the historical period in which they were attempting this. Aiming to have the vehicle use less than 4l/100km (equivalent to 70.6 mpg UK and 58.8 mpg US), they decided it would have to weigh no more than 700 kg (1540 lbs).
Different types of plastic were used, along with magnesium and aluminum, which aside from being lighter than conventional materials were also made in such a way that they would be easily recyclable when the cars would ultimately end up being scrapped.
By 1983, a total of four cars were built, each boasting subtle technical differences from one another, yet all were equipped with transverse three-cylinder diesel engines, which made either 50 or 90 hp. Drive was sent to the front tires via either a five-speed manual or electronically-controlled CVT – a real novelty at the time, in its own right.
However, the car was just too advanced for its own good, and never really materialized a specific model. However, its design and construction did inspire Volvo to build the atypical 480, an interesting second-hand buy that has proven Swedish qualities and pop-up headlights – it is the predecessor of the modern-day C30.
By Andrei Nedelea
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