Over the course of 50
years, Volvo's Torslanda factory has produced more than 6.8 million cars
that have rolled out across the world. Models such as the Amazon, P1800
and 240 have become a part of Sweden's cultural heritage, and models such as
the XC90 and S80 are set to do the same in future. Here you can see a
cavalcade featuring some of the models that have rolled out of the Torslanda
factory over the past five decades.
1960s
A Volvo Amazon was
the first model to emerge from the new factory in Torslanda in 1964. At
that time, the model had been in production since 1957, had quickly become
popular and had another Volvo model, the PV544, as its main competitor.
The Amazon was one of the cars to characterise the
Swedish road landscape throughout the 1960s, and lived on until 1970. However,
when the factory closed for the holidays on 3 July 1970, its story drew to a
close after a total of 667,322 cars manufactured with two, four and five doors.
The second model to
be produced from the start in the new Volvo factory was the Volvo P1800,
the beautiful sports car launched in 1961. With the aid of Roger Moore as Simon
Templar in the British TV series The Saint, the P1800 acquired a halo that
still shines 50 years later. Today, the P1800 is the most sought-after of
Volvo's classic models.
The autumn of
1966 saw the launch of the first entirely new model since the opening of
the Torslanda factory: the Volvo 140. This established in earnest Volvo's
worldwide reputation as a leader in the field of safety, with new features such
as a dual circuit braking system, disc brakes on all four wheels, a split
steering column and a body with energy-absorbing zones front and rear.
Six months later came the 145 combi, which eventually
created a predilection for Volvo's estate cars, not just in Sweden but on many
markets around the world.
1970s
1974 saw the launch of the model that would come to
symbolise Volvo Car Corporation for many years: the Volvo 240. Few car models
have had such a long lifetime, with the 240 series living on until 1993. More
than 100,000 car builders in the Torslanda factory have contributed to it
rolling out across the world over the years.
At the start of the 1980s, a turbocharged version of the 240
series was also launched – the first turbo from Volvo and now a much
sought-after collector's car.
Between 1974
and 1982, the 240 series – along with its 6-cylinder sibling the 260 – was
the only model produced at the factory in Göteborg.
1980s
In 1982, however, the 240 cars were joined by a model that
would symbolise a new age for Volvo Car Corporation. The 700 series, in the form of the Volvo 760, was launched in 1982, and
was supplemented by the Volvo 740 two years later.
Many people, particularly in Sweden, reacted to the
size – it looked so much bigger than the 240 they had grown accustomed to. But
the design was playing tricks on the eye – the 740/760 was the same length and
height, almost to the millimetre.
The angular design also contrasted with the more rounded
shapes being produced by many other car manufacturers at the start and middle
of the 1980s. However, this had been carefully balanced to create timelessness,
plenty of space and – surprisingly to many – good aerodynamics.
1990s
In 1991 it was time
for a revolution!
And this was made up of the three figures 8, 5 and 0:
the Volvo 850 which was launched in 1991. This car project was the largest and
most expensive in Volvo's history, and was described by Pehr G. Gyllenhammar as
the most important to have happened in Swedish industry. With its transverse,
five-cylinder engine, the Volvo 850 was something completely new, not least in
the sense that it was the first Swedish-developed, front-wheel drive Volvo
ever.
However, it was another – more traditional – Volvo model
that was first to be launched in the 1990s, namely the 940 and its big brother
the 960, which started being produced in the first year of the decade.
As the Millennium started to draw near, it was time for the
successors to the 850 series to take their place in Torslanda, in the form of
the S70 and V70. The following year, 1998, saw the launch of the large S80
saloon. Designed in Volvo's studio in California, it radiated elegance and
authority like few other Volvo models. It was also named the "World's most
beautiful car" in the design-conscious country of Italy.
2000s
The new Millennium started hectically in the Torslanda
factory. The new V70 and XC70 took
their place on the production line, based on the same technology as the S80.
Once again, Volvo confirmed its position as a world leader with regard to
safety, principally through new features such as the Inflatable Curtain side
impact curtain and WHIPS – Whiplash Protection System.
In 2002 Volvo stepped into an entirely new model
segment, SUVs – Sport Utility Vehicles – which have long been a big seller in
the USA. Many critics felt that the new XC90 was coming to the party too late,
but they were to be proved wrong.
The XC90 was
admittedly a large seven-seater, but with the safety, environmental
performance, road-holding and practicality of a regular car. Customers loved it
and the awards simply continued to stream in, including being named "Truck
of the Year" in the USA.
Even before the first car rolled off the production
line in Torslanda, 15,000 orders had been received, and production was soon in
the region of 60,000 cars per year.
When the first
generation XC90 goes out of production later this year, it will have
constituted the largest single export product from Sweden ever.
Six different Volvo models are currently manufactured in
Torslanda: the S60, V60, V70, XC70, S80
and XC90. And if we add the V60 plug-in hybrid, which requires a separate
process due to its high-tension technology, that makes seven. All are produced
on the same line, with a mix that is governed by how customers all around the
world have ordered their cars – logistics so complicated that it is difficult
for an outsider to understand.
After 50 years, our workforce of more than 3,000 employees
is now preparing for the next generation of Volvo models, based on the all-new
SPA architecture. First to be launched, later this year, will be the all-new XC90.
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