Saar: Volvo has taken the top-spec S90 Excellence, tossed a seat out and has readied it to deliver a ‘sensory experience’.

Volvo Cars design mantra has always put passenger safety at the heart of everything. With this new concept car, however, it seems that Volvo wants to take a swing at redefining customisable forms of in-car ambience. The name is quite apt then – the Ambience Concept. Volvo has taken the top-spec S90 Excellence, tossed a seat out and has readied it to deliver a ‘sensory experience’. The company is adamant that all new tech, which is designed to pamper the rear passengers, synchronises visuals, sound and scent to redefine in-car luxury.

Let’s focus on one out those three (visuals, sound and scent) at a time. The visual side of the Volvo S90 Ambience Concept is, what we feel, inspired by Rolls-Royce. The passenger can select from a number of themes, including Northern Lights, Scandinavian Forest, Swan Lake, Archipelago and Rain to get a visual element on the car’s ceiling. Apart from those, the Nocturnal theme has been designed for people who just want to relax and the Freedom theme tries to rejuvenate the energy levels of the individuals travelling in the rear.

Next up – the sound. The incredible Bowers and Wilkins sound system is enhanced with a set of tweeters, which are installed in the headrest of the rear seat. Those, Volvo claims, are enough to deliver an even richer and immersive audio experience. Based on the theme chosen, it synchronises the audio to match the visual element. And lastly – the scent. Each theme is paired with one of four bespoke scents, all of which are created by Byredo. The scent is spread across the cabin from a dedicated portal in the centre console.

Robin Page, who is the head of design at Volvo Cars, described this new take on in-car luxury. He said:

“The Ambience Concept redefines luxury by taking it beyond material choices, creating a car that connects with your senses. The design explores how people feel inside the car and enables them to influence their own mood and well-being. We’re known for our human-centric approach to design and as an industry leader in advanced safety technology. mbience reinforces this and shows our broader focus on human care, which starts with safety and also extends to general well-being.”

For pampering themselves, the passengers can control what mood they want inside the cabin via a smartphone app too. For now, the Volvo S90 Ambience is going to the 2018 Beijing Motor Show as a concept. But Volvo is aiming to put this new approach of customisable interior aura in the S90 Excellence, especially in China. And why not, in 2017 Volvo sold over 1 lakh cars in the People’s Republic and it wants to explore new horizons for its largest single market in the world. There is no other nation on the planet that buys more Volvo S90 sedans than China.

Here’s a video that Volvo has shared: