Volvo concept to feature glass sculpture

We'll spare you the inevitable gags about how it's a 'glass act', seeing as Volvo has commissioned the services of renowned Swedish glass artisans, Orrefors, to create an innovative crystal centre stack for its new S60 Concept Car, due to take its bows at next January's Detroit motor show.

Volvo embraced the concept of a floating centre stack five years ago (in the current-generation S40/V50), but the transparent unit developed for the new show car takes the theme a step further.

"The 1.6m long Orrefors crystal centre stack will take on a gentle, wave-like form from the instrument panel all the way to the rear-seat backrest," says the company.

And Volvo design director Steve Mattin adds: "It almost looks like a waterfall from the instrument panel, flowing through the centre of the car."

The centre stack also takes mood lighting to a new level as 'invisible light sources' will enable the floating crystal panel to emit "a shimmering glow that can be tailored to match the driver's mood".

Volvo says the new crystal centrepiece is in keeping with its homegrown heritage as large glass areas are an integral part of modern Swedish architecture -- helping to maximise natural light during bleak winter months.

The company is quick to point out the full-size crystal piece in the concept car will not be a production feature, but it says crystal may be used on a smaller scale in the future. "We'll have to see how our customers respond," says Steve Mattin.

It's not just about form, as thought has gone into the functional aspects, too.

The crystal console cuts straight through the instrument panel and its upper section forms a navigation screen at the same height as the instrument cluster.

At the lower end, four rotating controls protrude from elegant matt-polished recesses in the glass panel, while in the middle there is a removable remote control.

A novel element is the pivoted transmission lever. In the horizontal position it remains in automatic mode, but when flipped up into the vertical position it can be used to perform manual shifts.

The centre console runs all the way to the rear seat backrest, and under the crystal panel between the individual seats there are two drinks holders that slide forward when required.

"We've put the focus on ergonomics and safety. With the combined instrument at the same height as the navigation screen, all it takes is a horizontal eye movement to switch between sources of information," says Mattin.

It all sounds very clever. We just hope the rest of the car (the precursor to the next-gen S60) is as innovative.

To comment on this article click here