This used to be the world’s most boring car – and you won’t believe what has happened to it.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Volvo’s Chinese owner, unveiled new versions of the S90 sedan in Shanghai on Wednesday.

But it’s the changes to the top-of-the-line S90 Excellence that are turning heads.

Before its first public appearance at the 2016 Guangzhou Motor Show, Volvo released a preview of the executive vehicle.

The new limo – pitched unashamedly to Chinese billionaires – has ditched the front passenger seat for a shoe compartment, and added a number of high-end upgrades.

“The first thing you notice in the S90 Excellence is that we have removed the front passenger seat and replaced it with what we call the Lounge Console, designed to meet the chauffeur-driven executive customers’ need to relax or work while on the move,” the Swedish car maker’s design vice-president Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement.

Volvo’s newest and fanciest car yet has a built-in refrigeration compartment, a heated and cooled cup holder, foldout worktables and an adjustable footrest for the richest of riders.

Handmade crystal Orrefors glassware is just an added bonus.

Watch a preview of the Volvo S90 Excellence below:

Luxury is the manufacturer’s new priority under Zhejiang Geely chairman Li Shufu, as the billionaire hopes the premium car will make China a global manufacturing and export hub with its new range.

“China will play an increasingly important part in our global manufacturing ambitions,” Volvo’s chief executive officer Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement.

“Our factories here will deliver world-class products for export across the globe in coming years, contributing to our objective of selling up to 800,000 cars a year by 2020.”

One-third of Volvo’s global production will be out of China by 2020, Mr Samuelsson said.

The S90 Excellence is turning heads. Photo: Volvo