This 2005 SEMA concept is all the Volvo you could ever need

It does look a little different, doesn’t it? Something that we can’t quite put our finger on… maybe it’s the front bumper, it doesn’t look like the usual snug fit. Is the winch a dealer-fit option? Those Swedish estates always came with a healthy equipment list to choose from. Turns out this car is a Volvo concept from the 2005 SEMA show, that locus of beasty modified things. The company variously turned up in the early 2000s with chopped up roadsters and an 800bhp version of the XC90, but this nice estate is by far the most sensible project they came up with.

Now that you mention it, the XC70 AT (it stands for 'all terrain') does seem to have everything you need for the sort of crazy adventure that avoids roads entirely, doesn’t it. Jacked up suspension, light bar that would make someone cover their eyes on the moon, several tonnes of stuff you might need but probably won’t... in fact this car could have been made specifically with Wookie in mind. 

The interior of this pimped out XC70 (the V70 XC trim line was renamed in 2003 when the car was facelifted, to try and make it a bit more distinctive alongside the new XC90) was described as “durable yet sporty”, with the standard leather trim of the car replaced with black and grey neoprene. Yes, like a wetsuit, because why not? And that was it really, apart from the high-gloss wood accents being swapped out for a bit of brushed aluminium probably just to keep someone in the workshop busy for a day or two.

The XC70 AT concept used a tuned version of the 2.5-litre straight-five from the V70 R, itself a lightly tweaked version of the engine that could be found in the Focus ST of the time. The normal XC70 got a 200bhp 2.5, but this one took the V70 R’s 300bhp and ramped it up to 408bhp and 398lb ft of torque, to monster anything that nature might throw at the car. The changes included a larger Garrett turbo, new intercooler and a 3-inch stainless steel exhaust system. 

Seeing as Volvo is more used to tweaking its cars so they’ll start first time in the middle of a biting Swedish winter rather than trekking through the endless baking desert, for the XC70 AT the company teamed up with US tuner IPD. So the bodywork around the bumpers has been purpose built, with new skid plates and a 4.5-tonne winch up front, and a custom roofrack on top with lights, a high-lift jack, jerrycan, spare wheel and a 1000W generator. You know, for those sticky situations you often find yourself in. The “saffron and silver” paint job is supposed to be reminiscent of Mexican sunsets.

Maybe someone at Volvo USA was panicking back in 2005, but this XC70 AT would have been a great way to ferry people to their secret bunkers in the event of a zombie apocalypse or somesuch disaster. Where we’re going, we don’t need roads, etc, etc. The car’s 20-inch alloy wheels aren’t much to write home about these days, but that was still big back in 2005. This multitalented Swede could clear all sorts of obstacles thanks to its custom air suspension and lift kit that meant it could sit 20cm higher than the production XC70. Thanks to the roof rack there was still loads of room for canned goods and medical supplies inside the car. Clever thinking, there.

Volvo made clear at the time of the SEMA show in 2005 that the XC70 All-Terrain wouldn’t be going into production, but it did hint that the involvement of tuning firm IPD might mean that you could buy some of the parts yourself or at least get the company to superglue them on for you. Still, with customers flocking to SUVs, the concept was a good opportunity to demonstrate that there’s still some life left in the old estate car yet. 

Well, have a word with TG’s own plucky adventurist Tom Ford, who could knock you up a version of your own if you ask particularly nicely. He was so inspired by the Volvo concept and so annoyed that it wasn’t going into production that he made up his own knock-off V70 XC version of the car, completely with General Grabber tyres, bonnet scoop and bespoke paint job.