LE CASTELLET, FRANCE – This seems like an odd place for a Swedish brand to launch a new vehicle, but there’s a very good reason for the choice of locale: the opening round of the World Touring Car Championship held at the Paul Ricard circuit. And the reason Volvo chose this race weekend is that the brand has just entered this hard-fought series.
Although Volvo usually is associated with safety, the Swedish automaker isn’t afraid of a little competition, as its track record in the Scandinavian Touring Car series, Aussie Touring Cars and BTCC easily shows. Who can forget that iconic 850 Estate at the height of that series’ popularity – see picture above.
From road to race
With an official works entry into the WTCC Volvo are keen to underline the links between its WTCC racer and the current crop of high-performance models sold under the Polestar banner.
As opposed to its rivals, Volvo actually uses the very same base motor found in its showroom models, to build a race engine. The road and race units go as far as utilising the same block, head, main bearings, roller cam, and injectors, along with a few other items.
Four for all
You’ve probably read recent reports of the S60 Polestar on this site, seen the track test video or a recent test in our print edition and wondering why we’re covering this model yet again.
Well, the big news for this year, or as the American naming tradition dictates, the MY17 car is that the turbocharged inline six has been ditched in favour of a four-pot motor.
The replacement heralds the last model in the Volvo family to fully adopt an engine from the Drive-E range of motors. As of now every car sold by the firm has a four-cylinder motor under the bonnet.
Fewer cylinders, more power
As is the trend of downsizing and forced induction, the new engine, found in the S60 and V60 Polestar models, is 50 per cent smaller, displacing just under 2,0 litres. With the help of a turbocharger and supercharger it produces 270 kW and 470 N.m of torque.
The two forms of forced induction are complimentary, with the mechanical supercharger providing enough compressed air to combat turbo lag, which would be quite noticeable with a compression ratio of just 8,6:1, and then completely decoupling upwards of 4 000 r/min when the exhaust-fed turbos takes over.
Compared to the standard T6 engine other changes include a bigger turbo, new conrods, new camshafts, a larger air intake and a higher capacity fuel pump.
Gearing up
The other big news for the revised S60 has been the adoption of an eight-speed transmission, offering two more ratios than the six-cylinder model.
Power is still doled out to all four wheels via a BorgWarner all-wheel drive system. This arrangement allows up to 50 per cent of maximum torque to be directed to the rear axle when on tar, so no real drift antics are on the cards. However, if there is a severe speed differential between the two axles, ie on snow, then a full 100 per cent can be sent to the rear wheels.
Weight watching
A handy side effect of these changes is that the new drivetrain has shaved 20 kg of mass from the predecessor. And to aid handling the front axle load has been reduced by 24 kg.
How does it go?
Having recently experienced the inline-six during its road test period I can confidently say that this new engine feels far more punchy in-gear and willing to rev than the six-pot. Maximum engine speed is 7 000 r/min, a shade higher than the six-cylinder.
The sense of urgency is no doubt helped by the extra ratios that allow one to exploit the power band to a greater extent. Even when driving the extremely tight and unfamiliar mountain passes of the region, there’s always the opportunity of grabbing another gear without upsetting the balance of the car.
Incidentally, Volvo claims a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 4,7 seconds for the S60, which should be repeatable thanks to the launch control program offered on the transmission.
Not a rip-snorter
As you’ve probably figured, the S60 Polestar isn’t quite a rip-snorting sports sedan in the mold of a BMW M3 or C63, and at this price it wouldn’t be. See it as a the only real challenger to an Audi S4 and you’ll get a clearer picture of where it fits in.
Atypical of drive routes I’ve experienced in Europe, the roads in this region aren’t pristine. Narrow and scarred is the best description of the majority of the chosen path.
The S60 Polestar soaked up the road imperfections with ease and the all-wheel drive system put down the power without causing any heart-stopping moments. On the racetrack the neutrality of the set-up allowed us to attacked the Paul Ricard tar without fear of things getting terribly out of shape.
And while the transmission offers a sport mode, which not only dishes up faster shifts but also opens up the flaps in the active exhaust, replete with eructations on upshifts, I found that taking control of the shift process is far more effective than leaving the decision-making process up to the ECU.
Summary
Like the MY16 car that was brought into SA in limited numbers, only 32 of these revised/evolution S60 Polestar models will be up for grabs in Q3 of this year, and they are likely to be snapped up pretty quickly.
The changes made to the MY17 S60 Polestar are immediately evident and have made this is far better car. If this is the rate of progress of this fledgling performance brand proceeds, then I can’t wait to see what comes next…
A V40 with this powertrain perhaps, now there’s a thought.