The annual SEMA show held in Las Vegas, Nevada, is where automakers, suppliers, and tuners convene to celebrate the art of modifying cars. From chrome-plated 1960s Chevy Impala coupes to Subaru WRX STI hatchbacks sitting half an inch off the ground, the show welcomes any car as long as it’s not stock. Volvo is not a company you’d normally associate with SEMA—its name is more likely to come up in a conference about advancements in automotive safety. Yet it brought a hot rod called the Volvo T6 to the 2005 show.
Swedish enthusiast Leif Tufvesson designed and built the T6 with support from Volvo. He worked as the manager of Koenigsegg’s development department during the T6 project, and his resume included positions in Volvo’s prototype-building department as well as in various restoration shops. He had the vision and the experience required to put the Volvo name on a car that could turn every head at SEMA.
You’d never guess you were looking at a Volvo if you didn’t see the emblem on the grille. The T6 had an open-wheel, Plymouth Prowler-like design with a raked profile. It ticked nearly every box on the list of hot-rod styling cues, including externally-mounted headlights, and it looked like nothing Volvo had ever built.
Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
The interior was a little more tame but still totally wild by Volvo standards. It featured carbon fiber bucket seats, an S60-sourced steering wheel modified with a chrome ring from a 1947 PV444, and an aluminum dashboard. The instrument cluster came from the S80, which was Volvo’s flagship sedan in the 2000s. The craftsmanship that went into the car is amazing; It could almost pass as a regular-production sports car.
While it was presented as a one-off, the T6 was built to be driven. Power came from a turbocharged, 2.9-liter straight-six borrowed from the S80 and modified to develop about 300 horsepower. Tufvesson fitted a 2.5-inch stainless-steel exhaust system and linked the engine to a five-speed automatic transmission. He also mounted the engine transversally behind the passenger compartment, which is unusual for a hot rod.
Volvo liked the project enough to show it off at SEMA next to the XC70 AT concept, which was a lifted and seriously rugged-looking evolution of the XC70 that it designed in-house, but it had no interest in adding a 1930s-inspired two-seater with a rear-mounted engine to its portfolio of premium, safety-first cars. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? The Volvo T6 was never a candidate for production.
It was stunningly well-received, however. Volvo returned to SEMA in 2007 to unveil another hot rod called the V8 Speedster that was also developed and built jointly with Tufvesson. The brand’s fling with hot rodding ended there; We haven’t seen a Volvo hot rod since, and we’re unlikely to see another one anytime soon.
How would you build a Volvo hot rod in 2025? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Volvo
Volvo