Page 1 of 2 Next >> Lightweight materials, alternative fuels, extremely low fuel consumption - key words for the car of today. Yet, these were the very properties that formed the basis for the LCP 2000, Light Component Project. This was a concept car study aimed at the future and the environment, presented by Volvo Car Corporation (Volvo Cars) in the late spring of 1983, 30 years ago.
The idea for the LCP was born in 1979, partly out of an electric car study which Volvo Cars did in 1976 led by genial engineer Rolf Mellde and partly out of an ultralight small car project called Ellen. The requirements demanded a driveable prototype for a future lightweight car which was extremely fuel efficient, yet at the same time very safe and practically usable by the year 2000. The team, headed by Mellde, was supposed to take advantage of both the new materials and new technologies that existed and those that were under development. LCP had to accommodate a minimum of two people, have a maximum weight of 700 kgs and a maximum fuel consumption below 4 litres per 100 km. Virtually an unrealistic combination in 1979.
Four cars were built - all of them with minor technical differences - and they were shown for the first time at an environmental seminar in Stockholm during the late spring of 1983. LCP2000 looked like a car, but different; a wedge shaped two-door hatchback with an upright rear end and a plastic tailgate that also served as an entrance door into the rear seat. This was rearward-facing for safety and space purposes. And yes, there was also room for luggage. If you look closely at the LCP today, you will recognise some design features of the Volvo 480 which was introduced three years later. Page 1 of 2 Next >>
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LCP 2000
Lightweight materials, alternative fuels, extremely low fuel consumption - key words for the car of today. Yet, these were the very properties that formed the basis for the LCP 2000, Light Component Project. This was a concept car study aimed at the future and the environment, presented by Volvo Car Corporation (Volvo Cars) in the late spring of 1983, 30 years ago.