This article was first published in the August 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
Riding shotgun has been a fine automotive tradition since the turn of the 20th century. Like the stagecoach before it, nearly every car produced has had two front seats -- or at least space for two.
Now an unlikely maverick, Volvo, is deleting that passenger perch. The target for this shotgunless horseless carriage: China, where the luxury sector is booming and chauffeurs are now standard equipment. Such thinking is making the back seat the place to be.
Of course, plushing out the rear seats is common these days, so Volvo built the Lounge Console Concept SUV. Based on its roomy XC90, this modern-day palanquin ditches not only the production model's third row, but also the front passenger's spot. Spanning that newly open space is a reclining seat, hectares of legroom and an ottoman-TV-work-table–storage-unit mashup. Evidently it's not enough to be driven around by a minion; you also want to put your stinky feet right next to them.
At first glance it seems absurd to remove the front seat, but for those folks with Downton Abbey-scale aspirations, it actually makes some sense. Volvo might never put the Lounge Console into production, but for now the XC90 Excellence edition, with no third row, four seats and tonnes of rear legroom, will be available to titans of industry later this year. Just holler at Jeeves to go once more round the park while you sit in the back row, right-swiping Tinder while pretending to catch up with your business affairs.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
