Automakers register trademarks all the time, but not all of them are eventually used on production models, but some obviously are and they indicate their plans.



On November 5, Volvo registered the C40 and C60 nameplates with the US Patent and Trademark Office, according to a report from Car Advice. The “C” prefix has been used by the Swedish brand before for its (discontinued) C30 compact hatch and the C70 coupe-cabriolet.

Now that the Chinese-owned automaker has sorted its model range, and with sales on the rise, it makes sense to presume that the C40 and C60 names will be used for a compact and mid-size coupe respectively.

Volvo has a coherent naming strategy in place, using S for saloons, V for hatchbacks and station wagons, XC for crossovers and SUVs. The XC40 compact SUV and S90/V90 luxury saloon/estate are already on their way, yet there’s not a single coupe in its line-up.

The Concept Coupe that was unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2013 was the first Volvo displayed after the appointment of Thomas Ingenlath as the brand’s new design chief.

It was a prelude to the company’s new design identity, something Ingenlath acknowledged at that time: “The Concept Coupe is no futuristic dream car”, he said. “It is designed to demonstrate the capability of our new architecture: the confident stance, the proportions and the most prominent design signatures.”

As promised, many of its elements influenced the all-new XC90 and, as we expect, future Volvos that are in the pipeline. Nevertheless, it was also a nod to the iconic P1800 coupe from the ‘60s interpreted for the 21st century.

At the same time it was also the first to show the new, modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform that was developed by Volvo and will replace the legacy Ford ones from when it was owned by the Blue Oval.

The concept used a 2.0-liter petrol engine with a supercharger and turbo driving the front wheels and an electric motor on the rear axle. The hybrid system delivers a combined output of around 400hp and more than 600Nm (442 lb-ft) of torque.

Even if they get the green light, we don’t expect either of the two coupes to roll out before the end of the decade at the earliest, as Volvo is currently busy updating its core models.

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