Volvo Delivers 1 Engine, 5 Fuels in V70

The styling is a gentle evolution of its ancestors but its front end is inspired by the new Volvo S80 sedan and the Volvo C30 hatch. But what is more interesting about the Volvo V70 is that it uses one engine which can run using five different fuels.

Some aficionados regard the wagon segment as dead. To circumvent this notion, Volvo put a lot of time and money to make the Volvo V70 wagon good looking and admirable in every respect. The all-new Volvo V70 belongs to the third generation of the car. However, the car is not treated as a direct replacement for the previous Volvo V70 but only as an estate version.

The Volvo V70 prototype is engineered to compete with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5-Series. The wagon features a distinct grille and front bumper but the dashboard and majority of the interior are basically the same. Auto parts and accessories integrated to the car including Volvo brake caliper, rotors and suspension are upgraded to complement the functionality of the Volvo V70.

What is more interesting than minor modifications is the enhancement of the Volvo engine to entertain five fuels that include standard gasoline, E85 (bioethanol), natural gas, biomethane, and hythane. The most interesting fuel among the five is hythane. The latter is a mixture of hydrogen and methane. Hythane, the most recent type of alternative fuel blend, is composed of 10 percent hydrogen and 90 percent methane.

Hythane, E85 bioethanol and CNG biomethane are extra-clean fuels. This fact made the car successful in surpassing all existing emissions regulations imposed in any market these days. It will also qualify for the upcoming EuroV emissions regulations. The extra-clean fuels also have the benefit of being carbon neutral. This means that the amount of carbon emitted when the fuel is burned is equivalent to the amount acquired by the crops used to make the fuel.

Aside from running on five different fuels, another notable feature of the Volvo V70 Prototype is its relatively consistent performance regardless of the fuel used. Volvo said the turbocharged engine of the prototype is capable of generating about 200 horsepower. Said horsepower is sufficient to power up the wagon.

Volvo has established a remarkable track record in the field of producing environment-friendly cars. These automotive milestones reflect Volvo’s commitment to help clean the environment by reducing harmful emissions that contribute greatly to global warming. Aside from green car manufacture embraced in the environment philosophy of Volvo, other primordial concerns of the automaker include safety and quality.

Volvo has communicated its intention to transform its entire lineup into green cars. The Volvo V50, its station wagon variant, is available in Europe as a Flexi-Fuel model. The car can run on E85 bioethanol. When it runs on said fuel, it generates some 80 percent fewer carbon dioxide emissions than gasoline. The Volvo S40 1.6D is the automaker’s efficient production vehicle that consumes 48 mpg of diesel. The emissions produced are 15 to 20 percent less than an equivalently powerful gasoline model. The Volvo S60 B-Fuel, which is powered by gasoline and biomethane, is also part of Volvo’s green lineup. When fueled by biomethane, tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide are reduced to some 25 percent compared to gasoline fuel emissions. The evolution of Volvo is aimed at producing fuel-efficient, elegant, functional, green cars.