Test drive Volvo 960 1994 - 1997 sedan

Man in a case

In fact, we did not want to test the limousine terribly. Because we immediately imagined how much this should be a boring and dull occupation - to be a passenger. Moreover, somewhere in the back seat, lost in the bowels of a huge car and fenced off from everything surrounding with dark glasses, rods and partitions ...
But the evil fate of the journalist still put us in a golden cage. Since it came to someone to drive such cars, it means our sacred duty to find out-what these heroic people in cases are, sitting on leather seats in the conditioned womb of some Volvo 960 Stretch.
I want to be airliner!
Having reached the parking lot, where a meeting with the owner was scheduled, we immediately saw him. In the sense of a car. And it was difficult, of course, not to see - a long liner, the color of all such a whiteness, was issued from a slender series of cars one and a half meters.
In principle, Volvo as Volvo, the usual 960th. They took her, unhappy, cut it in half, put in the middle an insert a little more than a meter long, and welded. Naturally, it became interesting to us who abused the car so. But no traces, in the sense of signs indicating authorship, were not left. Only in the glove compartment found an instruction for the usual 960. Clean work! - we decided.
But in the trunk there was an unit the size of a battery, from which all sorts of hoses, tubes and wiring stretched towards the cabin. It turned out that this thing is connected to a minibar-cooler built in the back of the rear seat. Here it is, the Simely Truth, ”we realized. For this, probably, they buy limousines, so that in the evening, only while still on the way to a night club or casino, one could look into the minibar, and properly prepare for the upcoming events. Or maybe even in order to study the cool contents of this minibar in the morning, on the way to work in a calm environment and come to the service in full -armed - with already corrected health and ready for new achievements.
Of course, after such a fundamental discovery, nothing could have struck our imagination so much - neither the creaky black skin of soft sofas, nor a separate climatic installation serving the passenger interior, nor even the rising partition that separates us from the driver.
But by the way ... the partition can be very by the way! - the sudden imagination, which was suddenly shattered and immediately painted the very frivolous paintings of the limousines that were slowly floating along the streets of the streets. It should be noted here: both sofas in the passenger part of the cabin are located towards each other, which greatly helps to make dating with passengers and creates an intimate atmosphere absolutely necessary in such cases
Follow the distance
Maybe we’ll see how this thing goes? - Tiredly moved in the brain. And we went behind the wheel.
Our fears about the maneuverability of stretched Volva were exaggerated. It is necessary to take into account the increased radius of rotation mainly in all parking and turning. And on the road you forget about this, quite quickly getting used to the behavior of the car, and you feel as free as while driving an ordinary car. But you should not forget about the increased length - otherwise you can simply not fit into the flow of cars. After some time, we got so sullen that we began to lack a specific angular cap. And we said to ourselves: Stop!
But the brakes would be nice to strengthen ... - the faded pessimism woke up when a white miracle reluctantly died out at the parapet.
And the acceleration is not the same - the mass has increased, - we aggravated. And once again checking the smoothness of the course (good), we returned the limousine to the parking lot.
And when they returned to the editor, everyone tried to come up with a Volvo Stretch some application more worthy than a mobile minibar or a camping place. The first thought, of course, is to carry weddings - white after all. But for this event in Volvo, nevertheless, it seemed to us, it was cramped. It is also difficult to attach it to the bank: there are more and more black Mercedes love it, and so that there would be more faxes inside all kinds of faxes. But the hotel, probably, would have come just right - guests to serve.
And one more thing: the beautiful thing turned out to be beautiful.
The car was provided for the test company City Motors, (095) 362 8113, 362 0849.
Arabs have the longest
It is known who travels at the stretches: politicians, rock stars and mafia. And the more thoroughly they hide behind tinted and armored glasses, the more curious the layman is spy on what they have inside.
So what is there? In the 9-meter limousine of Elton John, everything is dedicated to music: the synthesizer occupies free space in front of the rear seats. The sound quality granted the singer only after installing 11 speakers (another, twelfth - in the driver's -fenced glass, so that the driver was not bored). Madonna on the trip only listens: the stereo system in her 7-meter Lincoln cost $ 18 thousand.
In general, in any other type of car, the owner of the owner is not expressed. What orders do not have to receive limousine firms! The American Classic made chairs with the deceased Gianni Versace, safe, disguised as a pillow of safety, secret, only the owner, famous hatches for alcohol and other relaxing substances ...
And in the new stretch of Pope John Paul II, provided to him by Mercedes, on the contrary, asceticism reigns: in addition to the usual armchairs of white skin, there is a special modest chairs for prayer, in front of which the image of the Madonna is established (not the one that is mentioned above).
But the main consumers of long limousines are oil Arab sheikhs. Along the sandy steppes of the Arabian land, the longest stretch in the world of Stretch entered in the Guinness Book of Records is traveled. This white Lincoln Town Car costs $ 1.8 million and has 22 meters from the bumper to the bumper. Owner, Emirates Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan al-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Ne-Nahjan company: in the stretch of 36 sedentary places. Not satisfied with the possibility of communication with the retinue, Bin Hamdan ordered to install 6 cellular, 2 satellite phones and a dozen faxes in the typewriter. In order for the car to fit into turns, it was made bending in the middle - like Hungarian buses.
The absolute world record among serial heavyweights belongs to the USSR: the Limousine ZIL-41047 pulled 6 tons with something. It was all about a 7-centimeter armor, which defended Mikhail Gorbachev from the attempts of the then President of the USSR, who traveled on it.
Model/Modification Volvo 960 Stretch, Sweden
BODY
Type limousine
Number of doors/places 4/8
ENGINE
Basin type with multi -point injection
The location in front is longitudinally
Working volume (see cubic meter) 2922
Number/location of cylinders 6/in -line
Cylinder x Piston stroke (mm) 83x90
The degree of compression is 10.7
Power (EES) (KW) 150 (6000)
Power (DIN) (p.) 204
Moment (EES) (NM) 267 (4300)
Valve number/cylinder 4
TRANSMISSION
Rear -wheel drive
Gearbox four -speed automatic
SUSPENSION
Front type Mcpherson
The back is multi -link
STEERING
Type gear-rake, with hydraulic power steering
Brakes
Front disk (ventilated)
The rear disc
ABS standard
Wheels
Tire size 195/65 r15
Dimensions/about EME/Weight
Length/width/height (mm) 5955/1750/1410
Wheel base (mm) 3855
The front line/track of the rear (mm) 1500/1520
Equipped mass (kg) 1920
The volume of the fuel tank (L) 70
Dynamic characteristics
Maximum speed (km/h) 185
Economy
Fuel consumption per 100 km (l):
at 90 km/h 9.8
at 120 km/h 11.5
on the city cycle 17.4

What else
In principle, a stream can be made of anything. Even from the Cossack Gorbaty. But as in any business, in limousine building there are canons. In accordance with which only absolutely defined cars are most suitable for stretching.
The classic of the genre is, of course, the American Lincoln Town Car and Cadillac. These cars allow the fantasies of extensors to walk around. Yes, so that from time to time monsters of completely exorbitant length with built -in pools and other life benefits are born.
However, this is still an exception to the rules. Usually limousines are nevertheless done for other purposes than bathing at speeds over a hundred kilometers per hour. Accordingly, they should have a solid appearance, luxurious decoration, and their length is in a direct proportion with the size of the vanity of its owner.
The limousines used for representative purposes are somewhat different. They, as a rule, are deprived of all frivolity, since one of the appointments of these cars is to emphasize the business image of the passenger. And for this it is difficult to come up with something better than Mercedes-Benz. Limouses based on machines of this brand make not only numerous ateliers, but also Daimler-Benz.
 
Evgeny Zhukov,
Stepan Rybakov (photo)

 

Source: "Autopilot"