Volvo Racecar
Unless you've been watching touring car racing from the UK or Europe for the last decade or so, it will probably come as a surprise to you that Volvo is interested in racing.
Which is probably why Volvo Cars of North America has decided to campaign an S60 R in the 2004 SPEED World Challenge GT Series at racetracks across the U.S.
The Swedish arm of the Ford Motor Company is undoubtedly anxious to keep pounding away at the ''boxy but safe'' reputation that still clings to it and appeal to a younger generation.
On that point, it's somewhat surprising that they couldn't find a driver younger than the man they did pick, since pretty much everyone who still races seriously is younger than Derek Bell. Yes, the Derek Bell who started racing around the time the Beatles came to popularity here, in 1964.
Bell will be joined for the 2004 season by Bob Miller, Paul Gerrard and a fourth driver to be named later. If they get Sterling Moss to sign up, they could maybe get sponsorship from the American Association of Retired People.
The racing Volvo S60 Rs will be enhanced versions of the production models of the same name, with the modifications to be announced later. All that Volvo will say is that the engines will go beyond the 300-hp level of the production car.
Vic Doolan, the president and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, understands the potential value of this effort. ''We want everyone to see us coming,'' and that means ''a paint scheme that no one could miss.''
As a result, the Volvo race cars will initially be liveried in dramatic ''mirror effect'' blue and silver design, highlighted in red. According to Doolan, the ''retro pop-art design is reminiscent of the race cars of the seventies and eighties when Derek Bell won five 24-Hour races at Le Mans and racked-up an impressive series of sports car and endurance race wins.''
Volvo had planned to go into racing in North America in the mid-90s, and indeed I went to London a few years ago on a Volvo program when they didn't announce they were going into the ill-fated touring car championships on this continent. It was a last minute decision, since the program was planned when they were going to enter the series.
The company is certainly known for its racing ability in Europe, where it's competed with vigor in sedan racing in Britain and on the continent.