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Las Vegas, Nevada (November 2, 2004) – Hot on the heels of the introduction of Volvo’s first V8 engine at the 2004 Paris International Auto Show, Volvo Cars of North America, LLC (VCNA) is proud to present the eye-grabbing XC90 PUV at this year’s Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With the production XC90 V8 supplied by VCNA, the custom fabrication and design was handled by Aria Group, Inc. Aria Group is a design, engineering and manufacturing company servicing a broad spectrum of clients from its Southern California office.

Once you get past the XC90 PUV’s aggressive stance and fully customized body enhancements, a true beast lurks within. Still a work in progress, the XC90 PUV is slated to eventually achieve a whopping 650 horsepower through the use of a massive supercharger, revised engine mapping and low restriction exhaust. That power is routed through a modified version of Volvo’s Haldex electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system. The system is pre-charged meaning that power may be instantly routed to the wheel with the most traction. A new 6-speed automatic Geartonic transmission rounds out the driveline.

The new V8 engine marks a new turning-point in Volvo Cars’ history. It is the first V8 the company has produced since it was founded in 1927, and the Volvo XC90 is the first model to be powered by the new engine. One absolute requirement for the new V8 engine was that it had to be installed transversely in the engine compartment, just like all other Volvo engines.

”A transverse engine is helpful in maintaining the frontal crumple zones in the XC90 and thus not compromise on protective safety,” says Hans Wikman. For this reason, extremely compact external dimensions were essential for the new engine. This also explains the choice of just 60 degrees between the two banks of cylinders – as opposed to the more conventional 90 degrees.

Bold Design

Riding a full two inches lower than a production XC90, the PUV’s extraordinary styling is highlighted by it racy red paint scheme. With a nod to the super cars of Italy, the XC90 PUV sits squarely on its 9-inch wide ultra high-performance alloy wheels. The Pirelli P-Zero Assimetrico tires are 275/40-ZR20s front and rear.

Up front is an ultra deep front airdam with a wide-mouth opening that helps to channel cool air into the engine compartment and the supercharger’s intercooler. Fared into the front fascia are small, high intensity foglamps. Air slips smoothly around the PUV’s front end and over the ultra-wide, custom fabricated wheel arches. Deep cuts at the rear of the side sills direct air around the tires to the 13-inch floating rear brakes, shod with 4-piston calipers. Brake duty up front is handled by 15-inch floating discs with 8-piston calipers.

Around back, the rear valance smoothly integrates the custom fabricated quad exhaust tips. Tinted windows, tail lamps and head lamps and body color rearview mirrors round out the cosmetic touches to the XC90 PUV.

In Detail

Story by Volvo Car Corporation, edited by Supercars.net

Above Images ©IMAGE CREDITS – Volvo Car Corporation

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