This just in from our scoop photographers in Sweden: the first pictures of an actual prototype of the production 2015 (or possibly 2016MY) Volvo XC90. We’ll remind you that last time we snagged the XC90, it was a test mule wearing the body of the XC70 estate over Volvo’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform.
The XC90 tester is under heavy camouflage, but we do get a rough idea of its silhouette, which adds to the knowledge that we have about the SUV’s styling from Volvo itself, as it had shared these renders of the car during a media presentation last summer.
Along with the new shape and platform, which Volvo says will shave around 150kg or 330 pounds over the existing XC90, the new midsize luxury SUV will be matched with an all-new family of four-cylinder turbocharged diesel and gasoline engines dubbed VEA (Volvo Engine Architecture) that will share up to 40 percent of their components. These engines are expected to be paired up to an eight-speed automatic transmission and likely feature stop-start and brake regeneration technologies.
Following the launch of the regular models, we should also see the addition of even more fuel-efficient, hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants.
Volvo officials recently hinted at a world premiere later this fall – possibly at the Paris and/or Los Angeles auto shows, and a global roll-out in 2015.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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