Volvo rolls out 367 hp, 470 Nm AWD S60/V60 Polestar

Volvo and Polestar, the performance brand now wholly-owned by the Swedish carmaker, have announced the launch of the quickest cars they have ever made – the new Polestar S60 sedan and V60 estate.

Both cars trace their heritage to the new Volvo S60 Polestar TC1, the new FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) race car from Polestar Cyan Racing. The new road cars use the same base chassis, engine and philosophy of the team behind the development.

The race and road cars feature a further developed Drive-E four-cylinder engine, with the 2.0 litre twincharged engine (turbo plus supercharger) producing 367 hp and 470 Nm. Just a little short compared to the current 2.0L power benchmark – Mercedes-AMG’s 381 hp/475 Nm – but plenty to call upon nonetheless. The previous Polestar S60/V60 did 345 hp/500 Nm from a 3.0 litre engine, and the new one is a lot faster.

Zero to 100 km/h is done in just 4.7 seconds (5.9 seconds in the 3.0L old car) and top speed is limited to 250 km/h. Despite the performance, fuel consumption and C02 emissions are at a claimed class-leading level of 7.8 litres per 100 km and 179 g/km.

Polestar has added a bigger turbo, a supercharger, new conrods, new camshafts, a larger air intake and a higher capacity fuel pump to boost the engine, and matched it with a BorgWarner 4WD system and the new Polestar-optimised eight-speed Geartronic torque converter automatic gearbox.

On top of this all the above, Polestar has reduced the weight of the S60 and V60, which are 24 kg lighter over the front axle and 20 kg lighter in total. The company says that part of the improved performance, and especially handling, compared to the previous model years is thanks to optimised weight distribution.

Other new features include new 20-inch lightweight rims, Polestar calibrated electro-assisted power steering and 371 mm slotted brake discs.

“All changes made to the car are about improving drivability and efficiency. The base of the new engine carries motorsport technology with solutions like the combination of turbo and supercharger, lightweight materials and more. This works hand-in-hand with our core philosophy and has enabled us to evolve the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar,” said Henrik Fries, VP of R&D at Polestar.

Salivating already? There’s a chance of these two beasts coming here, officially, as these new models mark the globalisation of the Polestar brand. The in-house tuner has announced that it is expanding the number of markets where a Polestar car will be sold from 13 to 47, while doubling production volume from 750 cars a year up to 1,500 units.