And by removing many of the previously necessary buttons, the designers can be more creative with the general look of the car’s insides: interior design director Robin Page describes the process as like being freed from a pair of handcuffs.

“This has made it possible to build a beautiful interior architecture around the portrait screen. The concept car showcases how this user interface will be integrated in our new car generation,” Page says.

Of course at every show concepts are unveiled with radical ideas, and often it seems that few of these innovations reach production cars, but with Volvo the reverse could be true.

Both the Concept Estate and its equally well-received predecessor the Concept Coupe point squarely to the next Volvo XC90. That’s expected to be unveiled at the Paris show in October and the word is that its interior will be dominated by a large central touch screen.