It’s a Polestar, not a Volvo, although clearly built upon the latest Volvo S60 platform and also the first production car Polestar has ever produced, following on from the concept-only C30 Polestar.
While Polestar is an independent company, their partnership with Volvo is unique – stretching back to 1996, they’re the only company sanctioned to design, manufacture and develop racing and road vehicles on behalf of the company.
WATCH THIS: Volvo S60 Polestar Concept versus Audi RS4 versus BMW M3 (Auto Motor & Sport TV)
Up until now, the road cars bearing the Polestar name were standard Volvo’s fitted with specially developed Polestar performance kits. The S60 Polestar is the first ‘complete’ car to reach production.
Think of it as the difference between BMW’s ‘M’ cars and ones fitted with their M Performance kits.
With 350bhp and over 369lb-ft (500Nm) of torque, the S60 Polestar features a Polestar-tuned six-speed automatic gearbox and Haldex 4WD system, capable of propelling it from zero to 62mph in just 4.9 seconds.
While performance is a little less fearsome than the 501bhp concept model, Polestar have retained most of that car’s chassis upgrades.
Polestar Öhlins 2-way adjustable dampers are assisted by upgraded springs (80% stiffer than stock), while the suspension has been extensively upgraded with new front and rear stabilizers, new rear tie blades, stiffer front and rear top mounts, a carbon fibre reinforced strut brace and stronger rear toe-link arms.
SEE ALSO: Volvo S60 Polestar goes into production as ‘milder’ 350bhp version
The video features race car driver Robert Dahlgren, who has worked with Volvo Polestar for the last ten years, taking the S60 Polestar on its final stage of development – a 4,000 kilometre journey from Barcelona, Spain, to Jokkmokk in Sweden.
He talks about the difference between the S60 Polestar and the standard S60 T6, singling out its steering response when turning into a corner, and the abundance of grip and stability which the Polestar developments have added. It’s been a lengthy process, spanning several years and many thousands of miles. And now its (almost) ready.
There’s just one slight problem.. it’s heading down under.
Yes, that’s right, for the time being, the S60 Polestar is an Australia-only product. But you can do something about that, Volvo ‘would like’ to sell it in other countries, but aren’t yet sure if there’s adequate demand.
But they’re listening, and if you show them that you’re interested, they might just reconsider.
After all, it would be a shame to let our antipodean friends have all the fun, wouldn’t it?
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