At the Shanghai auto show, Volvo is taking the wraps off a new flagship vehicle. Suitable for nuclear power-plant-owning cartoon characters with a fiendish overbite—or other captains of industry—is the 2016 XC90 “Excellence.”
The Excellence differs from the standard XC90 in several important ways. Its third-row seats are deleted, and its second row features two individual rear seats, from which the enterprising business tycoon can plot to block out the sun or simply relax and enjoy the atmosphere created by beige or charcoal leather, ambient lighting, footrests, an in-console fridge, heated/cooled cup holders with custom crystal beverage glasses, dual touch screens, and fold-away tray tables. The Bowers & Wilkins audio system adds one to its speaker count for even more stirring renditions of “White Christmas,” which can be heard in crystal clarity due to the XC90’s increased sound deadening and special, noise-canceling Pirelli tires.
The climate-control system includes an ionic air cleaner to filter out contaminants, such as the smells from a town’s long-burning tire fire. As befits an owner who might have many prized possessions—say, a human chessboard, a gorilla-skin vest, or King Arthur’s mythical sword Excalibur—the XC90 Excellence is adorned with unique visual differentiators including lower-door moldings, chrome B- and C-pillar trim, and an “Excellence rank mark.”
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As the range-topper for the XC90 line, pricing for the Excellence should be dearer than both the base XC90 Momentum ($49,895) and the Inscription ($55,495). Volvo says the model will be available on a worldwide basis late this year. When it does arrive in Springfield, this may be the car to finally tempt one C. Montgomery Burns out of his Stutz Bearcat.
