RED STAR RACEWAY, DELMAS – Think about Volvo for a second, especially its local operation… The words “performance” and “racing” don’t immediately spring to mind, do they? However, visit the manufacturer in its home country of Sweden and the situation is quite different.
Since 1996, performance division Polestar has been converting Volvos for racing purposes, and one of the highlights has been Volvo’s dominance in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship (STCC) in the past three years.
Although the carmaker had worked closely with the sporting arm before, Polestar was acquired by Volvo only a few months ago. The result? The S60 Polestar, the first production car released by Volvo that has been developed by the Polestar team.
What’s changed?
Based on the S60 T6 R Design AWD, Polestar effected more than 50 major upgrades, while in excess of 200 new parts were created.
Visually, it’s obvious a number of those changes have been made to the outside. The front bumper features a small splitter, the rear bumper has a compact diffuser while the large 20-inch wheels are all new and cover a new Brembo braking system.
There is also a small rear boot spoiler and a very cool blue Polestar logo on the bootlid.
Move to the interior, and the steering wheel is partially covered in Alcantara, the sports seats feature blue stitching and the gearlever and trim surrounds are also unique to this model.
And the performance?
The 3,0-litre, straight-six turbopetrol engine has been heavily reworked. The result is 258 kW at 5 700 r/min and 500 N.m delivered from 3 000 r/min. Connected to the engine is a six-speed automatic transmission which has been recalibrated for quicker shifts and which also features launch control. Sending its torque to all four wheels, the grippy S60 has a claimed sprint time to 100 km/h in 4,9 seconds, which makes this the fastest production Volvo to date … by some margin.
What’s it like to drive?
I initially thought Volvo quite brave to launch this vehicle at a racetrack. We would do no road driving, purely track time, and that would surely reveal any shortcomings the car might have.
But before we get to the driving experience, some context. The seating position doesn’t feel (and probably isn’t) lower than that of the standard car, but the seats are comfortable and hold you in place better than the normal ones.
Move the gearlever to the left and a sport setting is selected for the transmission, while the exhaust tone from the stainless steel exhaust system gains a harder edge.
On a tight route such as the track at Red Star Raceway, it’s soon clear the transmission works best when the driver flicks through the gears manually using the steering wheel-mounted paddles. That said, the transmission does a fine job when left to its own devices.
Likewise, the engine is game. Put your foot down and the turbopetrol spins past 6 000 r/min, pulling this near-1,8-tonne sedan along with vigour.
The braking system (371×32 mm ventilated and floating Brembo discs up front; 302×22 mm ventilated discs at the rear) is strong and feedback through the pedal is superb feel under heavy braking.
However, the Volvo’s trump card is the high levels of grip. The Haldex all-wheel-drive system is extremely neutral in its tuning, and even if you make enthusiastic use of the throttle through a turn, or abruptly lift off in the middle of a corner, the Volvo doesn’t lose its composure.
Verdict
Polestar aimed to create a car “designed to deliver optimal grip, and which is meant for those who appreciate driving with full control”. The carmaker has succeeded.
That said, it’s important to remember this is not a BMW M3/M4 or Mercedes-AMG C63 competitor (as evidenced by it being nearly R500k cheaper). It’s closest rival is probably an Audi S4. But the S60 Polestar ultimately treads its own path. As the company’s first attempt to create a sportscar designed to compete in a segment it hasn’t been represented in before, the Polestar is a great achievement. It’s new, fresh and worth getting excited about.
Can I buy one?
Volvo Car South Africa has been allocated 28 Polestars from the 750 that will be produced and sold in 14 countries. Of our shipment, 25 have already found homes. The final three will be used for marketing purposes, but Volvo might be persuaded to sell one of these to you if you ask nicely…