Volvo has pulled the sheets off of the 360C, a fully autonomous electric concept car that showcases a new way to go about domestic travel without having to pay the exorbitant amounts attached to airline tickets. The 360c concept is essentially a bedroom on four wheels that Volvo views as a possible alternative to regional flights. It’s not expected to go into production anytime soon, but it does open the door to a new and innovative way of using autonomous driving technology.

Exterior

The Volvo 360c looks like a concept in the sense that it looks like a car that you probably won’t ever see in our lifetime. I suppose it qualifies as a coupe-sedan-hatchback hybrid, though you can be forgiven for thinking that it’s any one of the three. Traditional headlights have also been replaced by what looks to be a long digital display. It still comes with headlights, but they’ve been relegated to the corners of the glass canopy.

The side profile showcases its buggy appearance. It’s also refreshing to see the concept with four wheels. Good to know that traditional design still hasn’t escaped the 360c. Everything else about it, though, looks like a concept lifted straight from a sci-fi movie. The rear section, in particular, has a pair of fins that sit vertically on opposite sides of the concept. It’s unclear what the purpose of these fins are, but seeing as the 360c is a concept that was designed for a future that may not exist, those fins could have a smorgasbord of functions that we may never have any use for.

Overall, the Volvo 360c is a true concept vehicle in every sense of the lingo. Then again, the real fun doesn’t start until we get inside this thing.

Interior

The Volvo 360c’s most important features are found in the interior. Inside this cocoon of modernity and functionality is a living space that can serve a variety of functions. It can be a sleeping cabin in case you want some shut-eye. It can be turned into a mobile office in case you want to spend your time inside more productively. You can even turn it into an entertainment area, a rolling restaurant, a mobile bar, or all of those things rolled into one.

It has no steering wheel, no driver seat, and no dashboard. It does have comfortable seats, one of which can be turned into a bed. It has a touchscreen table that can be used or stowed away. It even has a plethora of compartments that can stow anything from food, linens, champagnes, and even stuffed teddy bears.

Oh, and that glass canopy that hovers over our heads? That doubles as a touchscreen display that shows that can be configured in a number of different ways. Volvo didn’t dive into the details of what the touchscreen display is fully capable of, but it seems that it’s backed by an artificial intelligence assistant similar to Apple’s Siri and Google’s Alexa. You can interact with it and give it instructions on where you need to go before you settle in for a good night’s sleep.

To that end, the 360c offers impressive configuration and customization options that suit a range of different situations, all of which is centered on primary purpose as an alternative to short-haul flights. “Domestic air travel sounds great when you buy your ticket, but it really isn’t. “The sleeping cabin allows you to enjoy premium comfort and peaceful travel through the night and wake up refreshed at your destination. It could enable us to compete with the world’s leading aircraft makers.”

That, in a nutshell, is what the interior of the Volvo 360c is. It’s part hotel, part first-class cabin, part living space, and part everything else. It’s purpose can differ depending on what you want to do while you’re out on the road.

Drivetrain

The Volvo 360c is powered by autonomous driving technology. As for the scope of that technology? That’s the mystery at this point. We do know that given its purpose as a get-you-there driverless vehicle, it’s going to have the highest levels of autonomous driving tech, specifically Level 4 or even Level 5 technology.

It’s also packed with futuristic technology that includes a system wherein the concept can emit external sounds, display colors and visuals, and make certain movements that allow it to communicate its intentions to other road users.

These functions are incredibly important for self-driving cars, especially those like the 360c that’s touted as a vehicle that can travel great distances without so much as an input from its passengers.

Conclusion

Volvo isn’t the first automaker to showcase a self-driving car that can be configured for specific purposes. But it is the automaker to pitch the idea of challenger air travel on shorter routes with a more ground-based alternative for people who are always on-the-move. Perhaps Volvo can revisit it in the future when most of the world’s traffic woes are solved or addressed. But for now, the Volvo 360c is nothing but a pipe dream. A good pipe dream, sure, but a pipe dream nevertheless.

Further reading

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