No, I’m not kidding. Volvo designer Steve Mattin says that there are actually two Viking longboats somewhere in this headlight cluster. The peyote-trip continues as Mattin unveils the Volvo S60 Concept, saying that “it is packed with inspiration from Scandinavian design and from the Swedish coastline’s cliffs and seas“. Right.

The S60 Concept is set to debut at the Detroit Auto Show next month and is meant to preview the production 2010 Volvo S60. Check out the interesting design masked by dubious concept tricks below. 

 

Don’t expect the neo-suicide doors, the pillarless B column, the 20″ wheels, the entirely glass roof, the over-styled exhaust tips, or any part of the interior to make it to production. But other than that, you get the gist of Volvo’s first new S60 in a decade. This news comes despite Ford’s recent announcement that Volvo is for sale for the princely sum of USD $6 billion. 

The production S60 will feature some interesting new safety features as well. Surprise, surprise. One of the cooler ones is called “Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake” and it will completely stop the car from speeds of up to 20 kph in order to avoid a collision. 

I think that the exterior design is pretty successful. If it can keep the muscular rear haunches on its way to production it will have the solidity that we’ve come to expect from Volvo. The taillights look like they’re straight off the XC60 and look surprisingly good in this application. The Swedish brand is overdue for a renaissance and hopefully Steve Mattin can be their Raphael. If he can put down the peyote, that is. 

 

For the full press release, check out Jalopnik. For more pictures, check out the gallery.