Volvo boss Håkan Samuelsson has provided a glimpse of the all-new S60 by revealing an image of the camouflaged sedan undergoing testing in Norway.

Samuelsson confirmed the S60 will go into production later this year at the company’s new factory in South Carolina, US. The plant, which has a maximum capacity of 100,000 cars per year, has been under development since January 2016. The next XC90 will also be built there.

Unlike the V60, the S60 will not appear at the Geneva motor show, but will be shown at a later date. Volvo remains tight-lipped on exactly when, but it's likely to be revealed in a few months, given the heavy camouflage in the pictured development car. It'll be built on the same Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) as Volvo's other larger cars, as well as the V60.

The V60, the 'Versatile' estate version of the S60 was leaked ahead of its official Geneva motor show launch, showing the car's side-on and rear-end styling. The front styling of the S60 and V60 will likely be identical.

In shots of the development car, the V60’s design was clear to see through the heavy camouflage, with obvious reference to larger models in Volvo’s line-up which were styled by former Volvo head of design - now Polestar CEO - Thomas Ingenlath.

Specs of the new S60 will mirror that of the XC60, with Momentum spec at the entry level and R-Design Pro at the top. Inscription will be in the middle. Engines will match those of the V60 - 158hp and 190hp D3 and D4 units, as well as a 245hp T5 petrol, while the range will be topped by a 340hp T6 Twin Engine plug-in, and a T4 petrol later in the car's life cycle.

Safety kit will also match that of the XC60, meaning that when it hits the market in early 2019, it’s likely to be the safest car in the class. The XC60 was declared the safest car ever tested by Euro NCAP last year, achieving a 95 percent overall score. It is equipped with safety systems that are more advanced than Euro NCAP currently tests on cars.

JIMI BECKWITH

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