Volvo and Pininfarina Form Joint Venture for C70 Convertible Replacement

Next Volvo Convertible Will Be Smaller and Less Expensive

When the name Pininfarina gets mentioned, what car do you think of? Some may have memories of the lovely Fiat Spyder sold in North America in the 1970s and early 80s, with others conjuring up thoughts of Alfa Romeos, Lancias, Ferraris and Volvos.

Volvos!? Since when did the Swede start a fling with the Italian? Since now... Volvo and Pininfarina formed a joint venture company this month for the sole purpose of designing and constructing the next generation convertible, currently the C70.

Pininfarina Sverige AB, the official name of the new company in which Pininfarina will hold a majority 60 percent ownership and Volvo will oversee a minority 40 percent stake, will take over the C70 production facilities in Uddevalla, Sweden. Management will comprise executives from both Pininfarina and Volvo, with no official appointments announced.

The car itself should be smaller than the current C70, as it will be based on new Volvo P1 architecture that will also support the upcoming S40 sedan and V50 wagon. Being that Volvo is a division of Ford Motor, the same platform will also be used for the next generation Ford Focus and Mazda 3 (Protegé).

A smaller size convertible should go a long way to reducing the new cars retail price, an important factor necessary to increase sales over the current C70.