... few hours after Volvo also announce their intentions to restrict the top speed of all their new cars to 112 MPH from next year.
Clearly more people purchase Volvo's than Koenigsegg's but I am left wondering whether Volvo have made a mistake or have a cleverly thought out marketing strategy given petrol heads are all supposed to be turning to a greener colour?
Volvo's made a very clever move (and not a new one; limiters in certain nations have been around for decades). Its generated a massive amount of publicity for zero development cost and has set itself up well in several respects. Firstly, the lower speeds will help set the mindset for current and future EVs that aren't as capable when it comes to top speeds (typically in the case of single-speed systems).
Secondly, it means the company won't have to plough fortunes into developing hardware that can attain or exceed higher speeds – allowing it to make lighter, less complex, less expensive vehicles. This could have a benefit for the drivers, too; suspension systems won't need to be optimised for speeds that will never be achieved on public roads, for example, potentially reintroducing a pliant and cossetting ride and nature elsewhere in the more feasible speed range. Similarly, wind seals won't have to be developed to the nth degree to prevent against intrusion at high speeds, cooling systems won't have to deal with high-speed heat loads, etc. Numerous advantages.
It also puts a positive 'safety' spotlight on Volvo, in many people's eyes, as numerous drivers are of the mindset that high speeds are entirely unnecessary (which is justifiable). Consequently, it will be seen as leading the way by many.
After all, it's all heading in this direction anyway – so it's doing well to capitalise on it. The GPS ring-fencing is perhaps more interesting and of note.
Supercars and hypercars will always have their place but they will change over time, too – and we're already seeing it with cars such as the electric Pininfarina Battista and Ferrari's upcoming V6 hybrid that's due soon.
There's not really a limit to how fast or powerful a production road car could be, otherwise, for all intents and purposes; it just comes down to cost and justifying it (or the inability to, which limits development in that direction).
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
took me out in his jag. I was curious so I went down the same road afterwards and at the point he was exceeding 130 I was barely reaching 100 in my type r. And whereas the type r felt like it was massively slowing down at that point, the jag felt just as quick accelerating as it did around 50mph. There's literally no comparison to a regular car.