Volvo’s S90 Ambience Concept ‘redefines in-car luxury’

Volvo has revealed the S90 Ambience concept car ahead of its public debut at the 2018 Beijing Motor Show.

It’s a luxurious tech-fest that uses sophisticated visuals, audio and even fragrance to, in Volvo’s words, ‘redefine in-car luxury’.

The S90 Ambience concept is based on the firm’s top-of-the-range S90 Excellence model, which is sold in China as a lengthy three-seater that’s intended to be chauffeur driven. The rear offside passenger has a vast amount of legroom and a leather-swaddled footstool, as well as a fully reclining seat.

The visual element is the car’s ceiling. Rather than have something as boring as a panoramic glass roof, there’s a projector that casts scenes such as the Northern Lights, a Scandinavian forest or raindrops, all aimed at altering the passengers’ mood from relaxing to invigorating.

The standard Bowers & Wilkins audio system plays sounds synchronised to the scenes, with speakers in the headrest for extra immersion, while best (or worst) of all, each theme is matched to one of four bespoke cabin fragrances pumped out from the centre console to add to the overall sensation.

Robin Page, senior vice-president of design at Volvo, said: “We’re known for our human-centric approach to design.

“Ambience reinforces this and shows our broader focus on human care, which starts with safety and extends to general well-being.”

The concept is focused on China, where Volvo does incredibly well – it sold more than 100,000 cars there in 2017. It’s actually the company’s largest single market, and one where it wants to continue to succeed.

Though just a concept for now, Volvo has indicated its intention to offer something similar on range-topping Excellence cars in the future – especially in the Chinese market. The S90 Excellence costs around £65,800 in China in range-topping form – it’s fair to assume the Ambience tweaks would add significantly to this sum.