Volvo Built a Prowler Knockoff. It Was Way Cooler Than the Original

Twenty years ago, a very unique Volvo concept debuted at the 2005 SEMA Show: The T6 Roadster. Even though it was on the automaker’s official stand, the company had no hand in its conception. It was designed and hand-built by former Volvo employee Leif Tufvesson in his garage, who started the project in 1998 by piecing together parts from various Volvo models and his own homemade hardware. It was his vision for a Swedish hot rod.

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Volvo would provide Tufvesson with a donor car for parts, but he started by building the T6’s tubular frame around the engine and transmission—a twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter inline-six borrowed from an S80, and a five-speed Geartronic automatic transmission that powered the rear wheels. He tweaked the engine, located behind the rear seats, upping the output from 268 horsepower to “around 300.”

Tufvesson formed most of the body himself out of 0.6-inch aluminum panels, taking inspiration for their shapes from various Volvos in an attempt to make a classic-looking roadster that stood out. The Volvo P1800, PV444, and XC70 influenced the rear hood (which opens to cool the engine once the compartment reaches a specific temperature), the rear lights, and the grille, while he used the S60, C70, and S80 to help define the sides.

Inside, Tufvesson borrowed even more from the S80 to complete the T6. The seats, shifter handle, pedal assembly, and instruments—positioned in the center of the dash—all came from the sedan, which he topped off with a special S60 steering wheel that almost certainly wouldn’t pass muster with today’s corporate lawyers or safety advocates.

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Volvo

‘The level of detail and quality that Leif put into this vehicle, we knew it had a place on the stand at SEMA.’

Tufvesson fabricated the A-arms for the fully independent front and rear suspension, which included custom carbon-fiber leaf springs and a shortened S80 steering rack. He borrowed spindles from the C70 for the front and front S80 spindles for the rear, which had lower trailing arms with Ohlins shock absorbers. It rode on staggered, 20- and 22-inch wheels, which hid the six-piston front calipers, the 13.0-inch front discs, and the S80’s rear braking system.

Tufvesson’s time with Volvo was brief when he started in 1995, only spending six months as a technician in the company’s research and development department before Christian von Koenigsegg hired him away. During his time at the Swedish supercar maker, where Tufvesson worked his way up from being a mechanic to being responsible for the company’s development department, he began building the T6.

Volvo

He’d get Volvo’s attention with some photos of his project, which impressed the automaker. Anne Belec, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America in late 2005, said that when the company saw “the level of detail and quality that Leif put into this vehicle, we knew it had a place on the stand at SEMA.”

The T6 would win the Hot Rod Magazine’s “Hot Rod of the Year” award in 2004 before making its way onto Volvo’s SEMA Show stand next to the XC70 AT. Tufvesson would only spend six years at Koenigsegg before focusing on his design company Caresto.

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