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Volvo Announces First V60 Plug-in Hybrid Test Drive

The first official road test drive with the unique new V60 plug-in Hybrid will take place at the 11th Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Berlin, scheduled May 18-22, 2011. The Swedish carmaker will enter the sustainability rally with a total of three cars, showing its commitment to combining environmental technology with a full luxury car experience.

The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid, the Volvo C30 Electric and the Volvo V50 DRIVe which will be featured in Berlin are three examples of Volvo Car Corporation's view on green motoring.

Volvo makes some bold claims with its new vehicle, saying that it combine elements of three vehicles into one sports wagon. The driver chooses the preferred driving mode via three buttons on the instrument panel:
  • In Pure mode the car runs only on its electric motor as much as possible. The driving range is up to 32 miles.
  • In the default Hybrid mode the diesel engine and electric motor interact to provide the optimal balance between driving pleasure and low environmental impact. Emissions of CO2 (NEDC) are 49 g/km, corresponding to diesel fuel consumption of 150 mpg. The car's total range is up to 746 miles.
  • In Power mode the technology is optimised to give the car the best possible performance. The diesel engine and electric motor have a combined power output 215 + 70 horsepower and maximum torque of 440 + 200 Nm.
"In order to get true car enthusiasts to think green, you have to offer them the opportunity to drive with low carbon dioxide emissions without taking away the adrenaline rush that promotes genuine driving pleasure," says Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research and Development at Volvo Car Corporation.

"Since the Michelin Challenge Bibendum drives include acceleration and handling tests as well as energy efficient driving, we expect that our cars will do very well. All of them are just as well equipped, comfortable, sporty and safe as all Volvo models,” Mertens adds.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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