Volvo Teases More Of The EX90 That Has The Same Drag Coefficient As A C8 Corvette

Volvo has optimized the body of the upcoming EX90 in order to make it as efficient and attractive as possible. The automaker announced today that the all-electric flagship SUV will have a drag coefficient of 0.29 thanks to its careful design.

Although the automaker has not yet shown the EX90 in its entirety, in a new video and photos Volvo shows off the rounded nose, the flush doors handles, the smoothed glazing, the covered wheels, and more that contribute to giving the seven-seater SUV an identical drag coefficient to a base C8 Corvette.

All of that effort has gone into the pursuit of making the air around the vehicle cling to the body as it moves around it. By doing so, the EX90 slices through the air more efficiently and less of the battery’s power is used, improving range.

Read: Volvo Says EX90 Cabin Will Be “One Of The Most Pleasant Car Interiors On The Market”

“We’ve taken inspiration from yacht design to outline the Volvo EX90’s beautiful and sleek proportions,” said T. Jon Mayer, Volvo’s head of exterior design. “If you look at the front, it’s proud and confident – inspired by a sailboat’s ability to shear through the ocean’s slamming waves. But it’s also rounder overall, which enables the air to flow around the car more efficiently.”

As Mayer suggests, though, it wasn’t all done exclusively in pursuit of getting the EX90 to go farther. In some instances, increased aerodynamic efficiency is the result of trying to integrate something into the vehicle in an attractive way.

Take, for instance, the lidar sensor. A big, clunky device used for autonomous driving functions, many automakers have been installing them into bumpers where they can be hidden or to the roof as pucks. Neither option was attractive to Volvo, which wanted the unit to be as high as possible for optimized visibility, and as smoothly formed into the roof as possible for better aesthetics and efficiency.

“It was a design challenge to integrate lidar in a way that both looks good and is optimal for its safety applications,” said T. Jon Mayer. “It’s the car’s eyes, and while you could have them around the grille area – which would be equivalent to having eyes on your knees – it makes much more sense to have them as high as possible on your head so you can see as much as possible. That is why, together with our engineers, we decided to integrate it in the roofline to maximize its effectiveness.”

Other aspects of the design, meanwhile, are intended for occupant comfort. The panoramic roof, for example, was inspired by Sweden’s cold dark winters and a desire to let as much air into the cabin as possible.

“We’ve put a lot of effort into the illumination inside the EX90, trying to create a warm interior and a somewhat colder expression for the exterior,” T. Jon Mayer explained. “It’s also connected to how people in Scandinavia might be perceived. There’s a calm and understated confidence that can read as cold at first – but once you get to know people, you find that they’re really warm. That very same confidence is exactly what we’re trying to convey in the expression of our cars.”

For those curious about what all of those considerations will amount to, Volvo will fully unveil the all-electric EX90 on November 9 in Stockholm, Sweden.