Here are 10 things you need to see at the new World of Volvo museum

The first thing you’ll notice when you step inside this mammoth 22,000-square-metre museum is the sheer amount of exposed wood everywhere (over 2,200 tonnes, to be exact). And then you’ll realise the pillars merge to form several tree-like shapes. Why? At this exact spot over 100 years ago, a few mildly important people to Volvo planted some seeds here, which blossomed into a few trees… and a whole car brand.

Said people, whose names were Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, then sat at this very desk to work out the logistics for bringing their vision to life. If you look closely enough, you may even be able to spot a few whisky stains from when Gabrielsson shouted, “Gustaf, you genius” and vice versa.

If old desks and massive trees aren’t your thing, worry not, because you can escape into one of the many kaleidoscope rooms which have an average 107 per cent chance of inducing a trance. Our personal favourite was the colour explosion room, where you could happily sit and stare at randomised animations for ages.

Or if trippy colour shows aren’t your cup of tea either, there are several simulators in place on the second floor which test your responsiveness to on-road objects and awareness of your surroundings to determine how safe a driver you are. It’s a bit like Mario Kart, except the bananas are replaced by buses and the power-ups are replaced by, er, your intuition.

Follow the path around from the gaming section and you’ll enter a walkway displaying Volvo’s other VIPs and mechanical developments over the years. Those range from its safety systems to the OV4 inline engine which was first produced in 1927 and led to the marque’s first real foray into the big, scary world of combustion power.

We’ll use the second half of this list to showcase some of our favourite cars from the museum, beginning with this: a big white safety bus. It’s one of 75 examples used to ferry wounded soldiers to medical tents during the Second World War, having been commissioned for duty by the Swedish Red Cross.

The 850 was no cheap feat to accomplish for Volvo, with an estimated 16 billion Swedish Krona dumped into its development. But as far as investments go, the 850 was… a pretty good one, with over 700,000 produced in the various body types over six years. We'd proffer most of those are still going. Framgang!

The headline acts here were the 'Your Concept Car' revealed in 2004 (with every major decision on the project made entirely by a group of talented women), and the 'Environmental Concept Car' which eventually became the S80 saloon. You may even have your attention diverted by the partially rubberised 240.

Undoubtedly the star of the entire museum is that famous P1800, which has accumulated enough mileage to travel from your couch to the Moon and back… six times. It was owned by the late Irv Gordon, who kept and drove it fresh out of the factory in 1966 until his passing in 2018. That averages out to 168 miles of driving every single day for 52 years straight. Incredible.

And if those cars aren’t enough, you’ll get the chance to see dozens of other models from Volvo’s heritage fleet scattered around the second floor. Those include the very earliest models, from the OV4-powered PV 444 to the fabulous first-generation XC90. Volvo said the museum’s lineup will be changed every few months, too, so you should be treated to some tasty, er, new-but-old bits each time you visit.