Autoblog

We were wondering whatever happened to Volvo's treasure hunt promotion that coincided with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The prize of $50,000 in gold and the keys to a new Volvo were buried somewhere near Davey Jones' locker on the ocean floor, but until today there was no word on which lucky treasure hunter had navigated the mess of riddles and clues to find it.

23-year-old Alena Zvereva from Ekaterinburg, Russia has been chosen as the winner, but her prize will have to remain wet a little while longer as Odyssey Marine Exploration, the deep-ocean shipwreck exploration company with which Volvo partnered, has found real treasure somewhere in the Atlantic. The real booty consists of $500 million worth of gold and silver coins at a secret deep ocean site that Odyssey has named the 'Black Swan'.

Follow the jump read more about how the Spanish government has gotten involved and delayed the delivery of Zvereva to her prize.

[Source: Volvo]

map from last year's treasure hunt

Just like it did last year, Volvo appears to be launching another treasure hunt wherein one lucky buccaneer will escape with the ultimate automotive treasure - a new car! The online clue board is located here, and with a new installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise set to debut May 25th, the Disney website is a part of the hunt, as well. At World's End isn't just the name of the new Pirates movie, it just might also be the location of this year's dig as well.

This bit from the current contest entry leads us to wonder what will be at the end of your shovel when you finally strike gold: "The treasure this year will shock even the toughest swashbucklers out there." Could it be one of the SEMA C30s? All of them? We can only hope and pray, though last year's XC90 was hardly a bad prize in its own right. As we said in our post on last year's contest (one of the most commented on Autoblog posts of all time with 1,271 comments), tying into a hit movie franchise, giving away a vehicle or two and doing it in such a fun and different way is a refreshing change for Volvo. Now, all for one and... that's it, go get your car.

[Source: Volvo via GTChannel.com]

The Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Volvo XC90, that was buried as part of the automaker's treasure hunt/film tie-in, has a new owner.

David Hutz, 30, of Herndon, VA, and six other finalists were flown to Abaco Island in the Bahamas, where they competed in a group of Survivor-style challenges to complete the search. David was awarded the SUV after he had determined what its ultimate location was. Thankfully for him, he didn't need to dig it up himself. Assistants handled those duties on his behalf.

The V8-powered, movie-themed Volvo is valued at $82,000 and sports 20-inch custom wheels, a full Pirates of the Caribbean graphics package, black leather seating, a quad-tip Borla exhaust system, and numerous other upgrades. After learning that he was the winner, Hutz announced that he'd be giving the car to his wife, who will undoubtedly get right to work removing its way-over-the-top pirate graphics.

No need to fret for the other six finalists, when Volvo, in a surprise move, awarded each of them a new vehicle as well. Happy faces were all 'round.

Volvo was likely in a good mood, seeing as the contest drew very high interest from people around the world. The U.S. alone produced 52,000 participants, several of whom used Autoblog's comments section to share and trade info as they tried to solve the hunt's puzzles. As marketing efforts go, it's hard to think of this one as anything less than a resounding success.

If you just can't get enough of the hunt, Volvo will post Webisodes documenting the competition on August 25.

Related Posts:

• Shiver me timbers! Volvo launches treasure hunt for buried SUV
• Volvo names treasure hunt finalists

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Volvo]

Aar, maties! You can put yer pencils down, Volvo has named the finalists in the hunt for its buried "Pirates of the Caribbean"-themed XC90. The seven piratical finalists include four from the U.S. and one each from the U.K., Japan, Spain and Austria.

The four-week puzzle contest will wrap up in dramatic fashion August 6, when the finalists will be flown to an undisclosed location to compete face-to-face in the final leg of the treasure hunt, a two-day Survivor-like physical and mental test leading them to the Volvo's location. First to dig it up, keeps the car.

The winning pirate will be announced August 11, and Volvo will air a series of reality TV-style online broadcasts of the final competition starting August 24.

So, has the contest been a marketing success so far? Well, if the more than 1,200(!) comments to our original post about the contest are any indication, someone in Volvo's marketing department deserves a raise. In the U.S. alone, more than 52,000 wannabe pirates visited Volvo showrooms to pick up the contest treasure map. Yo-ho-ho!

[Source: Volvo]