DETROIT ? It takes just one glance to realize the 3CC isn?t your typical concept vehicle, nor was the venue Volvo used to reveal it on Tuesday. The automaker brought the three-seat electric-driven prototype to China for the annual Challenge Bibendum, a competition between ?green? vehicles and technology sponsored by Michelin.
The 3CC is the latest in a series of concept vehicles rolling out of an ongoing study of safer, cleaner automotive technology. Nearly two feet shorter than the current Volvo S40, the prototypes carbon fiber body tapers into a near-teardrop shape that minimizes aerodynamic drag, explained Lars Erik Lundin, who heads the automaker?s advanced design center in California.
A three-seat layout might seem odd, but Dan Werbin, who heads Volvo operations in the States, explained that: ?In the United States, we have the luxury of owning two, three, even four cars. Why do they all have to be bulky,? or capable of carrying more than one, two or three people? Under the skin, the 3CC prototype is equipped with a working electric propulsion system, its lithium-ion battery back capable of delivering up to 200 miles range and, if ungoverned, a top speed approaching 125 mph. While there are no specific production plans, Lundin noted that elements of prior Volvo show vehicles, such as 2001?s Safety Concept Car, have wound up on the assembly line. He also hinted that the tapered shape could be stretched a bit, providing a full back seat on a vehicle more of the size of an S40.
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