Autoblog

New England is Volvo Country. It's also home territory for the loved and loathed Red Sox. There's plenty of cars plastered with "B" stickers, license plates and trinkum. Long a sponsor of Red Sox baseball, Volvo's rolled out a special edition of its stubby C30. The Kammback hatch comes with a factory-fitted Team logo stuck to the glass of the rear hatch, fender badges and a distinctive shade of red. This regionally pimped Volvo is a limited edition, with only 107 examples being produced.

If baseball (or just the Red Sox) isn't your thing, Volvo's got an Ocean Race Edition that spans the V70, XC70 and XC90 models. Ocean Race cars have been available a couple of times before, sporting Ocean Blue paint and nautical detailing, and the new Ocean Race themed cars continue to tie in with the actual sailing event. New this time around is the availability of Ocean Race models in Electric Silver as well as Ocean Blue. Interior details are more evocative of sailing, and new wheels draw inspiration from the undulation of the ocean. Volvo expects to shift 9,000 of these maritime units, which should make it easy enough to find a limited production Volvo, even if you miss out on the baseball themed C30. Ocean Race press release after the jump


[Source: Volvo]

PRESS RELEASE

Volvo Cars introduces special edition to celebrate the Volvo Ocean Race

Volvo Cars is starting the countdown to the Volvo Ocean Race by
launching a series of specially designed cars. The new Volvo Ocean Race
Edition encompasses three models: the Volvo V70, Volvo XC70 and Volvo
XC90. New is that customers can choose between two exterior colours:
Ocean Blue and Electric Silver.

"The Volvo Ocean Race reflects the values that our customers look for
when they choose a car. It's all about an active lifestyle, adventure
and passion. The cars in the Volvo Ocean Race Edition radiate all this.
We are convinced that the marine design connection will make them very
attractive," says Lennart Stegland, President of the Special Vehicles
division at Volvo Cars.

When Volvo organised the Volvo Ocean Race the very first time in
2001-02, the company sold 4,500 special edition Volvo V70s and X70s. In
conjunction with the 2005-06 race, the Ocean Blue family was extended
with the Volvo XC90 and sales increased to 8,600 cars.

The most recent Volvo Ocean Race Edition will reach dealers in June 2008
and Volvo Cars expects to sell about 9,000 cars. The five largest
markets are Germany, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain and Japan.

Exciting new interiors

"This time we've sharpened our offer with a stronger link to sailing.
More interior details echoes the materials used in masts and rigs. The
stitching on the upholstery traces its roots to sail making. The
aluminium detailing on the mats resembles clews. What is more, the
design of the unique wheels has been inspired by the movement of the
ocean's waves," says Lennart Stegland.

The Volvo Ocean Race emblem has a new, more exclusive design and the
cars' marine aura is enhanced by the Ocean Blue livery in combination
with exterior details in chrome. The Volvo Ocean Race Edition cars are
also available in Electric Silver.

All the cars feature full leather upholstery in exclusive soft leather
and the interior is available in Soft Beige or Offblack, with the centre
console and other details in a silk matt aluminium finish. The cars in
the Volvo Ocean Race Edition series can be specified with the full range
of engine alternatives available for each respective model and market.

Volvo Ocean Race

The Volvo Ocean Race is the world's most gruelling ocean adventure. An
extreme race that consists of 10 legs. The vessels start off on 4
October from Alicante in Spain. The finishing line is in St Petersburg,
Russia, on June 27, 2009 after stops in Cape Town (South Africa), Kochi
(India), Singapore, Qingdao (China), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Boston
(USA), Galway (Ireland), Göteborg (Sweden) and Stockholm (Sweden). The
2008-09 event also includes an inshore race in most of the ports.

For more detailed information about the Volvo Ocean Race, click on:
http://www.volvooceanrace.org
http://www.volvooceanrace.tv