Pictured above is the Volvo C30 R-Design, and as the name suggests, it’s a product of Volvo’s R-Design division. Not that long ago though, R was a performance division of Volvo and not a design division. They produced some great cars, but in 2007, Volvo dropped the brand and replaced it with the R-Design division.
The problem was the image of Volvo. The average Volvo customer isn’t interested in a performance car, and if you’re in the market for a sports car, Volvo is among the last words to pop into your head. Not many people bought these brilliant cars, they were too underrated. Volvo sold less than a third of the R performance cars than they had hoped to sell.
When talking with Swedespeed, Volvo’s North American chief Doug Speck hinted at the revival of the R performance range. He said that rather than aiming at the top of the line tuners like AMG and the M-division, this range would aim at medium-level performers like Audi’s S range of cars.
This is good news, and just in time, as the upcoming Volvo S60 could really use a touch of performance. Hopefully they will decide to revive the range.
Source: Swedespeed via MotorAuthority
No pictures of the rear end have been released yet, but judging by the side profile picture, it shouldn’t have changed much. It’s still just as good looking as the concept, even better in my opinion, and I’m looking forward to the car. Hopefully they’ll manage to make it fun as well. The car is set to debut at the next Geneva Motor Show in March.