Unearthed Sketches Reveal An Off-Roader Volvo Almost Built In The 1970s

Illustration: Volvo

Since the company’s founding in 1927, Volvo has become renowned for its practical, safe and stylish utility vehicles. While best known for its wagons, Volvo has produced all manner of hatchbacks, delivery vehicles, crossovers and even a new electric van. Volvo’s first SUV, the XC90, made its debut in 2002, but newly released sketches show the Swedish brand was considering a legit off-roader in the 1970s.

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The sketches, which are “blueprint styling concepts” created to develop the design, were posted to the Volvo Heritage Facebook page last week. According to the company, then-CEO Pehr Gyllenhammer tasked longtime design manager Gunnar Falck with developing “a rugged vehicle for Africa and developing countries.” Other than what we can see in the images, there aren’t any more details or even a name for the proposed SUV, but what we can see looks awesome.

Illustration: Volvo

Taking the form of a two-door SUV similar to a Jeep Wrangler or Land Rover Defender, the Volvo concept has a wedge-like nose, lots of horizontal lines, an upright rear end and a rear-mounted spare tire carrier. The slim nose has rectangular lights and an egg-crate grille similar to that of the 200 Series models that debuted in 1974, and the black trim piece running along the body side is like that of the 240 and other models. I especially like the segmented window glass, the squared-off wheel arches and the reverse rake of the rear glass.

Given the short overhangs, short wheelbase and tall ground clearance, it seems like this SUV would’ve had pretty great off-road capabilities, at least compared to everything else Volvo was putting out at the time. Volvo has had lots of success with rally racing and its cars are known for being absolute beasts in the snow, but the company didn’t make a car with four-wheel drive until the 850 in 1996. Maybe the lack of a suitable four-wheel-drive system and SUV chassis is one of the reasons this model never came to fruition.