In the past 18 months, Volvo has reinvented itself with a whole range of new cars. The XC90, S90, and V90 are gorgeous, well-reviewed luxury cars. But that's just the start. Volvo is planning to roll-out a mid-sized 60-series of cars next, and a smaller 40-series after that.

we'll see the whole car later this month

The new 40-series of cars is especially exciting for those of us in the US, as it marks the return of the small Volvo to this side of the pond. Volvo’s current lineup of small cars aren’t available in the US, but they are sold in Europe and other markets. The new 40-series will be built on Volvo's new Compact Modular Architecture, a smaller version of the Scalable Product Architecture that the Swedish firm designed to handle its larger vehicles.

Ahead of the 40-series' full unveiling on May 18th at its headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, Volvo is teasing the cars with a series of images on its Snapchat account — but the company sent this one over to us.

From the side, the car looks to me like a mix of the Ford Mustang and a Mercedes C-Class — with Volvo's "Thor's Hammer" headlights added in. It's a nice look, and I'm eager to see the whole car (full disclosure: I'm a big Volvo fan, so I might be biased). If the rest of Volvo's new lineup is any indication, the 40-series will definitely give the rest of the automotive industry something else to chase after.