The second-generation Volvo XC60 made its debut at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show with an all-new design inside and out, new safety systems, and a new climate control system called “CleanZone.” It’s a beautiful car, insanely comfortable, and it has all of the right technology. So, why did we catch it cruising around the streets of Paris this weekend under extremely heavy camo? At first, we thought this might be a next-gen XC70, but once we compared the two shots we have here to older spy shots, it was pretty clear that this is an XC60 mule. But again; why?

Perhaps Volvo was just trying to pull one over on us since April 1st just so happened to fall on Saturday – you know, to generate more interest in the new generation before it goes on sale later this year. Or, are they testing that T8 hybrid version? It does have an opening for the charging port on the front, left fender. But, then again, so did the old test mules. It could be that Volvo is prepping a Polestar variant of the new XC60 and wants to put in the work under camouflage since the new XC60 isn’t available quite yet. That would be a nice surprise come fall when the new XC60 goes on sale, don’t you think?

Either way, this thing was cruising around Paris all weekend, so Volvo has something up its sleeve. Keep reading to find out what I think is going on.

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Mystery or Marketing

At this point, the XC60 is way too new for a facelift, so that’s obviously out of the mix. A Polestar version is a possibility, but those variants don’t normally go on sale at the same time as the new-gen models, so that doesn’t make a lot of sense either. We already knew that Volvo was planning on throwing the T8 Hybrid setup in the XC60 and, with the new-gen model already making its debut, it seems unlikely that the T8 would still be in the testing phase. So, unfortunately, I think this is just Volvo’s way of continuing to generate interest in that long period between the XC60’s debut and when it goes on sale.

Then again…..

If you look through the front window on one of the shots, we can make out the same general dash layout, including that vertically oriented screen in the center stack. But, there’s something different here. That little tweeter that sits atop the dash in the center… it’s not there. And, there’s something else atop the dash on the passenger side. It could just be testing equipment, but it seems odd that the central speaker isn’t on top of the dash. It could be that Volvo is testing a lesser version of the XC60 we saw in Geneva that doesn’t get that as standard equipment, or maybe there really is more going on than what meets the eye. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.

Read our full review on the Volvo XC60 here.