Report: Volvo to Produce C30 Polestar Concept

Volvo must be listening to the people!

First Volvo listened when we all begged to make the S60 R-Design more than just a cosmetic upgrade, then we learned that Polestar had a mighty big hand in making that happen and now a recent report is suggesting that Volvo is ready to build the amazing C30 Polestar Concept.

Dubbed as a “junior Nissan GT-R” the C30 Polestar has wowed auto journalists alike with the only caveat that it was never to be put into production. Well through its recent relationship in making the S60 and XC60 R-Designs, Volvo will now in fact build the C30 Polestar concept. It will reportedly be dubbed the C30 PCP, which apparently stands for Performance Concept Prototype (not the hallucinogenic drug -although the C30 Polestar’s intoxicating performance may very well deliver quite the high).

I suggested that if Volvo wanted to truly take on zee Germans, they needed an dedicated performance division and it’s looking like the PCP nomenclature may very well fill the gap much in the same way BMW has its M division, Mercedes-Benz has it’s AMG division and Audi has its RS division.

The C30 PCP will reportedly have a very limited run (much like the BMW 1-series M) of about 500 examples made and will reportedly cost around $80,000 Canadian. That price, plus 400 horses makes it more of a BMW M3 competitor than a 1-series M competitor.

Regardless, it’s nice to see a car company that actually listens to the public. Thanks for actually building the C30 PCP, Volvo! Can’t wait to write a review for it!

[What Car?]

Volvo S60 R-Design Was Done Through Polestar?

Volvo’s R-Design for the better part of the past five years has been nothing but sporty cosmetic upgrades to models such as the S60. If you were looking for any added sort of performance like the previous S60 R had, you were plain out of luck. Then one day Volvo listened. They made the S60 R-Design more than just a looker, it now has the goods to walk the talk. If you check off the R-Design package for the 2011 S60, you’ll get 325 horsepower and 354 pound feet of torque over the S60 T6′s standard 300 horsepower and 320 pound foot torque.

Well apparently we can all thank tuning company Polestar for the added performance boost. If you don’t remember, Polestar were the ones that took a stock C30 T5 and turned it into a “junior Nissan GT-R”. High praise indeed. In fact, Jeremy Clarkson is also quite fond of Polestar’s creation. So, it seems Polestar definitely caught Volvo’s attention when they were getting such rave reviews and so Volvo enlisted them for the S60 R-Design.

So what does that mean? Will Polestar be to Volvo what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz or M is to BMW? It’s tough to say. Volvo has yet to comment on that, but I think it would be a very smart move if Volvo truly wishes to be mentioned in the same breath as those German heavyweights. I would snatch a C30 Polestar up in a second were it available for sale to the public.

Something to seriously think about, Volvo.

[Swedespeed.com]

Junior Nissan GT-R? AutoCar Reviews the Volvo C30 Polestar

BMW’s M, Audi’s RS and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG divisions better watch out because it turns out Volvo and Polestar can make one mean performance car.

Basically the idea of the C30 Polestar concept is simple: make a hardcore performance car that is street legal. Sounds simple enough, right? Well in order to do that, the C30 Polestar has a tuned 2.5 litre inline five cylinder which churns out 405 horsepower. Obviously that’s a lot of juice to put to the front wheels so Volvo  used their Haldex AWD system. On top of that, it is fitted with massive brakes, a massive intercoolers and other custom internal bits.

All of this combined means that Volvo has just created a “junior Nissan GT-R” according to Autocar. Praise doesn’t get much higher than that.

The kicker is Volvo and Polestar have no plans on actually turning it into a production vehicle. My guess is that it would likely be way too expensive if they were to sell it to the general public. Find a way to deal with that, Volvo. Nissan was able to keep the price down with the GT-R, so it is possible. This is definitely the hottest Volvo ever made and no one being able to experience it would be a travesty!

Judging by the video, it very well could be a junior GT-R. It looks extremely sure footed and planted in the corners and it has a tremendous exhaust note. Check out the Autocar’s test above.

Oh Hi: Volvo C30 Polestar Performance Concept

Meet the C30 Polestar Performance Concept from Volvo. It’s one of the more attractive Volvos that you likely will never see on the streets because it won’t be available for sale. Bummer.

Its existance is purely for just-for-the-hell-of-it reasons because Volvo and Polestar were curious about what they’d end up with if they built a race ready C30 without the regulatory body getting in the way. The end result? Stunning. Even though it’s not the colour I’d choose (though I could easily warm up to it), this is the most interesting Volvo to come along in a long time. And those wheels are just fantastic.

It has the same T5 engine found in the roadgoing C30, but Polestar has tuned it to 405 horsepower thanks to a much bigger turbo, a massive intercooler and custom internals.  Volvo’s AWD system makes sure the Polestar C30 stays planted.

In addition there are brakes supplied by Brembo, an Ohlins suspension set up and a quick ratio steering rack.

Has this got you drooling yet? Me too. Volvo & Polestar aren’t nice at all for teasing us like this. Build it, Volvo!