When we started to put together this month's issue there was some debate about whether it was suitable to place a Volvo on the cover: particularly a C30, a model that's not even on sale until the autumn. Then we looked at the photos, listed the spec and it became what's known as a "no brainer".
Need proof? Here's the original text we were going to squeeze on the cover: 507hp, sequential twin-turbos, all-wheel drive conversion, air-conditioned intercooling, F1-style widebody, adjustable spoilers, 14-piston brake calipers, 19x13" rear wheels, 355/25-19 rear tires, pushrod rear suspension, project built in just 70 days.
In fact, specialist Volvo tuner Evolve crammed so much innovation into the project we don't have the space to do it justice, so we're going to concentrate on the highlights.
Before we do, cast your mind back to et 2/05 when we featured the Evolve S40 built for Volvo's SEMA exhibit. Prior to that the company had also built a S60R, but the S40 got our attention. It too was all-wheel drive, squeezed 19x11s under the stock rear bodywork using formula car suspension, had a 425hp turbo upgrade on the T5 engine and looked like it would dine on road kill.
Fast forward two years and Volvo Sweden commissioned three tuners to build exciting versions of its new C30 hot hatch, (et 2/07). Two went to US tuners and the third to Heico Sportiv in Germany. Each interpretation had a unique style, but Evolve's car was the headline grabber.
F1-Inspired Body
Having taken delivery of the C30 T5 two weeks before its official unveiling in Paris, the tuner had to keep things under wraps. And what better way to disguise the car's appearance than take a disc grinder and cut off both sides of the car?
The project proposal to Volvo had outlined a Formula One-themed project, and part of that involved creating the single-seater's distinctive wedge shape. In order to recreate this, the team wanted to give the impression of side pods mounted on the car, along with a narrow nose and very wide rear tires.
After trimming the sides, they experimented with wedges. Originally, the car was widened 6" at the rear and 4" front. They finally settled on keeping the 6" rear extension but tapering the car down to stock width at the front. This gave the shoulders the desired F1-look, but getting the doors to look factory was a real headache. Apparently it took days of trimming, filling, removing and repeating to get the doors looking this good.
This view inside the door...
This view inside the door really shows the extra 6" added to the width of the car
The stock C30 T5 is equipped with plastic fender flares and side sills but these were removed for the project. In fact, the bottom of the car was cut away below the doors to shorten the profile of the car. New metal was then added to join the side panels to the floorpan. This metal was painted black, which disguises the NACA duct just ahead of the rear wheel, and carries air into the void behind the rear quarter panel where the exhaust is routed. "We had intended to have the tailpipes exiting on top of the fenders but it looked wrong, so they come out of the back with billet surrounds," Evolve's Don Nicholson explained.
Without plastic fender flares, the crew also had to construct its own wheel arches. Otherwise, the sides of the car would have been featureless.