2022 Volvo C40 Recharge

This all-electric Volvo C40 was based on their XC40 Recharge Pure Electric BEV crossover SUV, (itself the all-electric variant of the regular XC40, which was originally available as a regular internal combustion vehicle, but now even the base version in the US is a mild hybrid.)

It shares a platform with not only the XC40 but also the Polestar 2 electric car. The difference between the C40  and its XC40 progenitor is that the latter is a typical boxy five-door subcompact SUV while the C40 sports a zoom fastback roofline for its rear hatch.

The C40 is only available in an all-electric dual-motor format, with separate motors for the front and rear wheels. Tallying up the output of both motors, it has 402hp, and sprints to 60 in 4.2 seconds on its way to a 12.9 second quarter at 108 miles per hour. Top speed is governed to 115, and for a lardy little truckette that weighs in at 4,763 pounds, batteries included, it even manages to circle a skidpad at 0.82g, which was IROC-Z territory when I was a kid. Range is supposed to be 228 miles.

The only car I've ever owned that would come close to those acceleration numbers had a fire extinguisher strapped to the transmission tunnel, five-point harnesses, needed ether squirted down the carb to start on any morning cold enough to need a jacket, and idled like a paint mixer. (Probably had about the same range, too.) This thing, on the other hand, is invisible in the Fresh Market parking lot; just another grocery getter.

This Onyx Black example was photographed in July of 2022 using a Nikon D7100 and the excellent 16-80mm f/2.8-4E DX zoom lens.