Polestar tunes up Volvo V60 for the road

VOLVO Cars has commenced its rollout of series production cars tuned by racing arm Polestar, starting with global versions of the V60 wagon and its S60 sedan sibling – the latter of which was developed from an Australian-market limited edition.

The low-volume S60 Polestar and V60 Polestar are based on the respective recently updated model lines, and will go on-sale in Europe, Asia and Europe around June 2014. With a standing sprint time to 100km/h of 4.9 seconds, they will tackle high-end grand tourers from BMW and Mercedes.

However, despite Polestar centring much of its early prototype road development on the Australian market – Volvo launched a world-first run of 50 Polestar-tuned versions of the pre-facelift S60 in Australia in June this year priced at $109,950, with about 40 understood to have found homes so far – local launch timing of these models is yet to be confirmed.

VCA corporate communications manager Oliver Peagam told GoAuto today the company’s local arm had its hand firmly in the air. With Volvo launching a factory backed team in next year’s V8 Supercars series, the desire to get the cars here is obvious.

Development of the car has been ongoing over the past few years, picking up from the C30 and S60 Concept cars and the aforementioned Australian S60 Polestar. Thousands of development kilometres have been driven on twisty mountain roads, on the Autobahn and test tracks from the sunny south of Europe to the frozen north.

With the company labelling this new pair “the start of an extended Polestar production model range”, it’s reasonable to assert we will see yet more Polestar-tuned hotties down the line, with the V40 hatchback the most obvious candidate for a VW Golf R-rivalling makeover. Stay tuned.

Like the 50 limited edition models launched in Australia, the brand new V60 Polestar wagon and updated S60 Polestar sedan you see here are powered twin-scroll turbocharged T6 six-cylinder engines producing 257kW at 5700rpm and 500Nm at 2800rpm.

Power is channelled to all four corners via a Haldex-style all-wheel-drive system via a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters – a feature that was sorely lacking from the limited run of 50 cars sold in Australia.

Polestar has gone to town, adding 80 per cent stiffer springs over the previously range-topping R-Design iterations, plus new Ohlins shock absorbers and 20-inch branded alloy wheels. Hauling in the added grunt are ventilated discs (371mm up front) with six-piston Brembo calipers.

Aero improvements come courtesy of extensive testing in Volvo’s wind tunnel in icy Sweden, with Polestar modifying the front splitters and adding a new rear spoiler and diffuser to add downforce.

“With the introduction of the V60 model, we are proud to continue the heritage of fast Volvo estates like the racing 850 BTCC, a tradition deeply rooted among Volvo enthusiasts,” said Polestar CEO Christian Dahl.

”We are proud to present the S60 and V60 Polestar. A car developed for those who share our passion at Polestar: That driving really matters and that a true driver’s car should enable you to enjoy driving all year, on all roads and in all weather conditions.”