2017 Volvo V90 to appear next week, Australian launch set for next year

The unveiling will bring few surprises, however, with the premium new V90 already revealed through a series of scale-model leaks and workshop photos through the latter half of 2015.

The wagon’s front-end styling was more-or-less revealed with January’s debut of the new S90 sedan, and that workshop shot, above, offered the best look yet at the V90’s rump.

Today's announcement also brought a number of stunning clear studio and classic marketing images of past Volvo wagons, forming part of a promise that the V90 "will benefit from over 60 years of estate [a popular term for wagons in Europe] heritage".

That heritage " started with the Volvo Duett which was launched in 1953 - the first car to meet the combined needs of drivers’ active leisure time and practical professional lives".

Volvo says that, since the Duett appeared, it has sold more than six million wagons worldwide - a number that represents around one third of all Volvo sales since its foundation in 1927.

Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson said that these figures, and the brand's reputation, proves its "provenance in the estate segment".

Above: the Volvo Duett. Click through the Photos tab above for more images of classic Volvo estates.

“In many people’s minds we are known as the definitive estate brand. While the Volvo brand stands for much more than just estates, we will proudly carry forward this rich heritage with the V90," he said.

Following long-established Volvo themes while building on the brand’s sharp new styling language, the V90’s back-end will feature a familiar vertical lighting design.

The same look has featured on Volvo models for decades, and the new XC90 SUV revealed the latest iteration. Unlike the XC, however, the V90 will hook its lamps across into centre of the broad tailgate.

Styling elsewhere will, as expected, borrow from its S90 sibling and the XC90 SUV, with subtly sculpted character lines through the profile and a low wide-set design up front.

Expect the V90 to be powered by the same four-cylinder engines that drive the S90 and XC90, including the flagship T8 plug-in hybrid engine that offers 298kW and 640Nm in its current XC90 application.

Australia

Volvo Cars Australia has confirmed with CarAdvice that the V90 will make its local debut some months after the S90’s August launch, with the first quarter of 2017 expected to be the most likely window.

Watch for the V90 to make its official debut late next week.

Click through the Photos tab above for more images of classic Volvo estates.

What's your favourite classic Volvo wagon? What's your favourite classic wagon overall? Tell us in the comments below. 

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