FOLDING hard tops are a 'must have' technology at the moment. The latest C70 is Volvo’s take on the theme. reports.

As with most things in life, there’s a right way and a wrong way to going about creating a modern coupe-convertible car and most manufacturers to date have got it horribly wrong.

Think about it. How many cars with folding hard tops are elegantly proportioned? Volvo have realised that the novelty of a folding hard top is now no longer enough to guarantee sales. They want good looks too, which is why the latest C70 seems set to clean up.

Volvo’s original C70 Convertible was introduced in 1999 and represented the company’s first stab at a desirable drop-top in over 40 years. A resounding success, it piggybacked the C70 coupe’s elegant styling and offered four-seat practicality with classic Volvo build quality.

However, even if you were attracted by the car’s styling, it latterly grew difficult to ignore the fact that the underpinnings dated back to the mid nineties. What’s more, the fabric roof represented a security issue many target Volvo owners weren’t altogether comfortable with. Cue the latest car.

Unveiled at the 2005 Frankfurt Show, this C70 retains the sleek good looks but augments the offering with a folding hard top and improved driving manners.

With the hood in place, you probably wouldn’t guess that the C70 is capable of flipping its lid.

The rear deck isn’t overly long (the usual giveaway) and the roofline is smooth and beautifully integrated with the rest of the bodywork. The old C70 coupe used to sell within five seconds of customers clapping eyes on it and there’s no reason to think this car will be any different. After all, many of the basic ingredients are much the same.

The stance and proportioning are similar, it’ll still sit four adults in comfort and it still adheres to Volvo’s impeccably high safety standards. Volvo has developed the C70 to offer new standards of preventive and protective safety in the convertible market.

An example is the door-mounted Inflatable Curtain (IC), part of the C70’s integrated Side Impact Protection System (SIPS). As the IC cannot be fitted in the roof, as with the rest of the Volvo range, it has been innovatively fitted in the door to inflate upwards instead of downwards.

Volvo’s safety engineers have also fine-tuned the IC to be extra stiff, to stay upright and protect the head more effectively. In addition, the curtain then deflates more slowly to provide additional protection if the car rolls over.

Also adding to safety is a torsionally rigid body. Improving the driving experience is another benefit of a stiff chassis and the C70 is stiffer than its predecessor by between 10 and 15 per cent.

In the UK, the C70 is being offered with two in-line, five-cylinder engines – the range-topping, turbocharged T5 producing 220bhp and torque of 320Nm, plus a normally aspirated, 2.4-litre unit producing 170bhp. In addition, a five-cylinder, 180bhp diesel engine is due to join the range during 2006.

Volvo claim the C70 to be the only four-seater premium convertible with a folding steel roof and as such, the Swedes believe they’ve stolen an important march on perceived competition.

The top brass want to double the sales of its predecessor, which shifted 7,000 units in 2004 – its best sales year – with 1,500 of those accounted for by the UK.

It’s fascinating to look back on how we summed up the old C70: "It’s crucial for Volvo to pitch this car correctly. They have a task on their hands. Mercedes’ CLK Convertible and Audi’s A4 Cabriolet both put a firm squeeze on the Volvo from above and below, levering it into an ever smaller niche. You want to see Darwinism at work in the convertible sector? Watch this space."

Actually, the C70 has made an evolutionary leap.forward that will temporarily elude the chasing pack. Going about things the right way does, after all, have its benefits.