Cosmetically, the Inscription gets a gloss-black grille, black 18-inch wheels, and a rear spoiler, and is available only in Ice White or Black Sapphire Metallic. LED daytime running lights and xenon active headlamps are standard. It’s the interior, however, that really sets the C70 Inscription apart. The seats are upholstered in “Sovereign Hide,” and the dash is wrapped in leather and features contrasting stitching. In case the fancy interior trappings fail to remind of the Inscription’s specialness, Volvo embroidered “Inscription” onto the headrests and also throws in special floor mats and a unique handbrake lever.

The Volvo C70 may be a looker—even more so after its recent refresh for 2011—but the folding hard top and structural bracing mean it’s not exactly light or lithe. Reinforcing the standard car’s relaxed attitude is its 227-hp, turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine that drives the front wheels through a five-speed automatic. For the Inscription, Volvo squeezed out an additional 23 hp and 37 lb-ft of torque from the turbo five (for new sums of 250 hp and 273 lb-ft). The power bump comes courtesy of some ECU tuning by Volvo’s racing partner, Polestar.

Volvo has yet to announce pricing for the C70 Inscription, but it will undoubtedly carry a nice premium over the C70’s $40,825 base price. The company is planning a 2000-car global production run, with 500 of those units slated for the U.S. The limited production numbers and unique features ensure exclusivity, and make the Inscription an enticing swan song for Volvo’s attractive boulevardier.

So remember the Titan pickup–based NV commercial van Nissan released last year? Of course you do, because it’s awesome (you can read our review of an NV2500 here). Nissan has just unveiled a new passenger version of the burliest model, the NV3500 HD, and the people-carrier exchanges the cargo van’s metal body-side panels and bare cargo area for giant windows and seats. Lots of seats. If the windowless NV was Nissan’s shot across the bow of trade-fleet mainstays such as the Ford E-series and Chevrolet Express, the passenger version is the automaker’s attempt to shoulder its way into the hotel- and airport-shuttle arena.

The windows make the passenger NV much less awkward to behold than slab-sided commercial versions. (The low roof helps, too, although the taller cap would have made more sense for ingress and egress.) The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter still seems sexy in comparison, but at least the gap has narrowed. Functionally, this new Nissan boasts four rows of seats and can transport up to 12 people, including the driver. Nissan claims there are 324 possible configurations for the chairs, and the second and third rows are adjustable or can be removed entirely. The non-adjustable fourth row features a 50/50 split—rows two and three split 65/35—and each half can be individually removed. A full suite of options is available to make life in any row more pleasant, including a rear HVAC system, reading lamps for all rows, an additional 12-volt power outlet located in the third row, and two 120-volt AC power outlets. For the driver, Nissan offers the same navigation system, Bluetooth connectivity, and back-up camera that can be had in the NV commercial models.

Mechanically, this model shares all of its underpinnings with the NV commercial van. It’s powered by either a 261-hp, 4.0-liter V-6 or a burly 317-hp, 5.6-liter V-8 (the NV3500 HD cargo van is V-8–only). Both engines route output to the rear wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission. The passenger NV’s two lowest trim levels are also available on the commercial version, including a base S model and the step-up SV. The people-toting NV adds a range-topping SL spec, however, which carries most of the NV’s available options as standard kit and is available only with the V-8 engine. Nissan hasn’t released pricing, but the lowest-priced cargo model (an NV1500 with the V-6) starts at $25,930, so expect a premium for the additional seats, chassis spec, and safety equipment. The NV passenger van will hit dealerships this coming spring.