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Volvo will continue to denote its powertrains with a capital letter and then a number, with the letter denoting what fuel is used (T for gasoline and D for diesel) and the number positioning the vehicle in Volvo’s powertrain hierarchy. At the top of the range will be the T8, which will deliver 400 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque from a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
Volvo is calling its plug-in hybrid drivetrain Twin Engine technology. The setup in the new XC90 will combine a supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with a 60-kilowatt (80 horsepower) electric motor. Volvo says that with its Twin Engine technology, the seven-seat XC90 will emit as little as 60 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Normal driving will be conducted in the default hybrid mode, where the four-cylinder powers the front wheels and the electric motor drives the rear pair. But at the push of a button the driver can switch to quiet and emission-free city driving on pure electric power where the range will be around 25 miles, and then, when needed, immediately revert back to the combined capacity of the four-cylinder engine and electric motor for V-8-like performance.
In the U.S., the new XC90 will also offer a T6 model, which will come with the same supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine fitted to the T8 but without the electric motor. Output of this model will be 316 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, which is comparable with a V-6 engine.
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Overseas, Volvo will also offer two diesel models, the D5 and D4. Both will feature 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines, and have outputs of 222 and 187 hp respectively.
The new Volvo XC90 will be revealed next month ahead of a formal debut at the 2014 Paris Auto Show in October. Sales in the U.S. will commence next spring.
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