2014 Volvo XC90 Design Proposals

By Volvo’s own admission, the XC90 was a “latecomer” in the luxury SUV market as it was launched in 2002 – some five years after the Mercedes-Benz M-Class and three years later than the BMW X5.

Nevertheless, Volvo claims that the XC90 has become “Sweden’s most valuable export product”, selling a record 85,000 units in 2005 and bringing in about US$6.2 billion to the company in its peak years. The U.S. has been the XC90’s number one market with 38,800 units sold in 2004 and 36,200 in 2005.

But nine years is a very long time in the auto industry, and even though Volvo’s SUV has been updated no less than three times in 2007, 2009 and 2011, the competition has moved forward. Meanwhile, the Swedish company has changed hands as it was sold from Ford to Geely, which is currently developing the XC90's replacement.

Admittedly, the second-generation of the XC90 is bound to be another “latecomer”, since it's at the early stages of development and is not scheduled to hit the market until 2014.

Car & Driver visited Volvo’s California design studio just before the LA Auto Show where the Swedish company had little to show other than the Concept You prototype.

There, the magazine got a sneak peek at four sketches that outline different design proposals for the new XC90. Only one is a front shot, and it incorporates the new “face” previewed by the Concept You.

The other three images are rear three-quarter sketches and even though they look similar, they vary significantly in many details from the shape of the tail lamps to the size and angle of the C-pillar.

Volvo’s people wouldn’t comment on which of the four was closest to getting the green light, but they disclosed that the new XC90 will be the company’s first model to use the new Scalable Platform Architecture - possibly along with the kinetic energy recovery system currently being tested by the automaker.

The Swedish company's officials also told the magazine that the 2014 XC90's engine line-up will consist only of four-cylinder units (most likely turbocharged) in compliance with the downsizing trend dictated by stricter emissions regulations.