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Volvo developing new three-cylinder engine family

Pop the hood on a Volvo of recent vintage and you'll find four-, five-, six- and even eight-cylinder engines. But the Swedish automaker is downsizing its engines over the coming years. The new XC90, set to be revealed later this week, will use a new family of four-cylinder engines (like the one pictured above). But that's not even the end of it as emerging reports speak of a new three-cylinder engine family in the works.
The new 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine will, according to reports, help Volvo further cut its carbon emissions in line with constricting regulations in markets like Europe and Australia. There won't be quite as many versions as the four-cylinder range, which will include gasoline and diesel versions in varying states of tune, but the three-pot motor is tipped to be employed in vehicles as large as the S60 and its stablemates. Larger than that, however, and the three-cylinder engine apparently just doesn't have the necessary torque.
Expect the new three-cylinder engine to be introduced sometime later this decade, after the four-cylinder's introduction in 2016. The three-cylinder engine is also set to form the building block of an even more efficient hybrid propulsion system in the future, enabling this new engine family to stay relevant through 2025.

Volvo teases mysterious new small crossover

The image you see above is just about all we know of the new Volvo crossover that will be revealed at 8:30 pm Central European Time on May 17 (2:30 pm Eastern Standard Time). Volvo released three very short video teasers, all with the tagline "Leave The World Behind," all of which feature a member of the now-defunct band Swedish House Mafia - Axwell sits in a boat in the first, Sebastian Ingrosso walks toward cabin in the second and Steve Angello stares at the sea in a third.
A microsite, www.leavetheworldbehind.com, accompanies the teasers and it's been said that a short film by Lune will feature the band - Swedish Mafia had a hit in 2009 with the song Leave the World Behind. As for the vehicle, theories are that it could be something between the V40 Cross Country and XC60, the new XC90 or something else entirely. We don't have long to wait, and you can watch both teasers below.

Last Volvo XC90 rolls off assembly line in Gothenburg

It was back in 1998 when Volvo set about developing its first SUV. The brief was to build a seven-seater that wasn't "too large", and several design proposals were considered. Three and a half years later Volvo revealed the XC90 at the 2002 Detroit Auto Show and the rest, as they say, is history.
Volvo initially had an eye towards selling 50,000 units per year. It achieved that and then some, selling around 85,000 examples per year between 2004 and 2007. Now, after 12 years and 636,143 examples made - still over that initial target on average despite its lingering age that see it selling just 11,000 units these past few years - the last Volvo XC90 rolled off the assembly line in Gothenburg.
That final example is heading straight to the Volvo Museum adjacent to the factory. But it won't, strictly speaking, be the last XC90. It is the last of that model to be built in Sweden, but a new model is on its way. And the current model will continue to be built in Daqing, China, to be sold locally as the Volvo XC Classic. So if you want to get your hands on a seven-seat Volvo crossover, you'll have to move there. Otherwise you can wait until the end of January 2015 for the new model to begin production.