2011 Volvo S60 R-Design comes with a range of specially developed design details both outside and in. On the outside the Volvo S60 R-Design have an imposing redesigned front with a grille painted in glossy piano black. The sporty stance is further enhanced with colour-matched body components, details in matt special finish and a hexagonal pattern that is repeated both front and rear. Distinctive twin exhaust tailpipes and unique five-spoke 18-inch Diamond cut wheels emphasise the sporty overall appeal.
Under its performance line, R-Design, the Swedish automaker gave their resident sedan a welcome change on both its looks and engine output. Together with the XC60 R-Design, the S60 R-Design made its debut at the New York Auto Show and is set to go on sale later this summer.
To improve handling, Volvo engineers installed a strut brace, shorter springs (which reduce ride height 15mm), and stiffer bushings (20% firmer than the standard model). On top of this, they also added monotube rear dampers and Corner Traction Control which uses torque vectoring to reduce understeer.The R-Design package will be available with a variety of engines including everything from the 115 bhp (86 kW / 117 PS) 1.6-liter D DRIVe to the 304 bhp (227 kW / 308 PS) 3.0-liter T6.
The S60 concept featured a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a dual-clutch automated manual transmission; the pair should be in production shortly, but it’s unknown if the small four would make it to this side of the Atlantic in the S60. The production car will, however, get the concept’s pedestrian-detection technology, which will fully apply the brakes if it detects you’re going to make a Swedish meatball out of someone in the crosswalk. Other features of the S60 concept that are candidates to make it to the real car are a second-gen radar cruise-control system, lightweight composite body panels, and a grille shutter than can close to reduce aero drag.
