The Volvo Tundra is a concept car built and designed by Bertone in 1979. Bertone's design prompt was to do "something delicious" based on the Volvo 343.[2] The angular design was by Marcello Gandini, and continued the themes developed for the Lamborghini Silhouette and the Reliant (Anadol) FW11.[3] It was rejected by Volvo, who considered the design too modern and deemed it difficult to market.

Volvo Tundra
Volvo Tundra in Bertone Collection
Overview
ManufacturerBertone
Volvo
Also calledBertone Tundra
Production1979 (1 concept car)
DesignerMarcello Gandini at Bertone[1]
Body and chassis
ClassConcept car
Body style2-door hatchback coupé
RelatedVolvo 343
Powertrain
Engine1,397 cc (1.4 L; 85.3 cu in) inline-4
Dimensions
Length4,023 mm (158.4 in)
Width1,710 mm (67.3 in)
Height1,277 mm (50.3 in)

It is often misreported that Bertone instead sold a very similar design to Citroën, where it was produced as the Citroën BX from 1982 to 1994.[4] However, this would have meant Citroën turned a concept into a series production model in less than 18 months.[5] The relationship is simply that the two designs appeared from the same design house.[6][7]

The Tundra's rear-side window had a pulled-down top edge, an idea also seen on the BX C-pillar. The effect was of a floating roof, a design idea that would become popular in the 2010s.[4]

The car featured a digital speedometer and was powered by a 1.4-litre, four-cylinder engine, giving 70 PS (51 kW).

References

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  1. ^ "Volvo Tundra". carrozzieri-italiani.com. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  2. ^ Padeanu, Adrian (2016-08-03). "Concept We Forgot: 1979 Volvo Tundra". Motor1.
  3. ^ Perini, Giancarlo (1979-10-18). "Muotoilun kaunokkeja" [Design beauties]. Tekniikan Maailma (in Finnish). Vol. 35, no. 17/79. Helsinki: TM-Julkaisu. p. 62. ISSN 0355-4287.
  4. ^ a b Söderholm, Erik (2014-07-05). "Volvos konstiga konceptbil – som blev en Citroën" [Volvo's strange concept car – which became a Citroën]. Auto Motor & Sport (in Swedish). Egmont Publishing AB. Archived from the original on 2020-02-15.
  5. ^ "Le projet BX".
  6. ^ "Citroën BX prototypes Projet XB".
  7. ^ van der Zanden, Thijs (2021), BX: A new generation of Citroën, ISBN 978-90-828147-9-8