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Filed under: Motorsports, Sedan, Videos, Volvo, Australia, Racing
It was just a
rumor, but now it's official, mates:
Volvo will be joining the
V8 Supercars series in Australia with an official team for 2014. Volvo is partnering with Garry Rogers Motorsport and its own
Polestar tuning firm to create Volvo Polestar Racing.
A V8 engine will be produced by the Swedish arm of the racing effort, and will be supplied to the Garry Rogers team, which will get the whole shebang ready for the track. The outfit will be running two V8 Supercars "based on the production
S60 road car." Considering that the S60 uses a range of transversely mounted engines with four, five or six cylinders (powering either the front or all four wheels) while the new race car will employ a V8 sending about 650 horsepower to the rear wheels, make that
very loosely based on the production S60...
Volvo claims this is the first factory-backed entry in the V8 Supercars series from a luxury brand. We should note, though, that
Mercedes-Benz is represented in the series with an E-Class sedan, but that outfit isn't quite an official entry from the car's German parents. In any case, you're encouraged to watch the teaser video and read the press release
below for all the details.
Continue reading Volvo joins Australia's V8 Supercars series [w/video]
Volvo joins Australia's V8 Supercars series [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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June 17th, 2013
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volvo s60 polestar
Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Videos, Volvo
Polestar is getting ready to deliver its first production car, the
Volvo S60 Polestar. Letting the S60 stretch its legs, Polestar Racing driver Robert Dahlgren took the blue sedan from Barcelona, Spain to Jokkmokk, Sweden - stopping for wet-weather testing in Germany along the way.
Dahlgren narrates the journey of the "pilot project" that has 350 horsepower and around 368 pound-feet of torque, and will perhaps be the first in an era of hardcore
Volvo production cars. It will go on sale in Australia this Summer, with other markets "under investigation." While we non-Aussies wait with fingers crossed, there's a video
below to enjoy.
Continue reading Watch Polestar talk about the development of its super S60
Watch Polestar talk about the development of its super S60 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 May 2013 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 3rd, 2013
Filed under: Hybrid, Technology, Volvo
Volvo has been experimenting with flywheel propulsion systems since the eighties, but only recently has technology caught up with the possibility of real-world applications. In 2011, the Swedish carmaker
was granted 6.57 million Swedish kronor (about $1M US) by the Swedish Energy Agency to work on a kinetic energy recovery system with Swedish bearing company SKF. Before it began trials, Volvo expected the fuel savings to be as high as 20 percent. After trials conducted last year on public roads the results were even better, Volvo finding that a KERS-equipped four-cylinder turbo performs like a six-cylinder turbo but gets up to 25-percent better fuel economy. It calls KERS "a light, cheap and very eco-efficient solution."
The test vehicle was an
S60, its ICE driving the front wheels while the KERS - weighing six kilograms, measuring about 20 centimeters across and using a carbon fiber flywheel - was attached to the rear axle. Under braking, the four-cylinder engine is shut off and the KERS gathers rotational energy, spinning at up to 60,000 revolutions per minute. The stored energy is then used to get the car going again or to assist at cruising speeds. It's the same kind of vacuum-sealed flywheel design used by
Audi in its
R18 etron quattro, but with the opposite arrangement - in the Audi the diesel V6 drives the rear wheels, the KERS drives the front wheels.
Like the units in
Formula One, it provides an additional 80 horsepower. When working with the four-cylinder ICE, the S60 with KERS can do the 0-62 mph dash in 5.5 seconds, a full 1.1 seconds faster than the S60 with the 3.0-liter T6 engine and all-wheel drive.
As we expect with hybrids, the greatest fuel savings came in urban environments with a lot of braking, Volvo suggesting that the combustion engine could be shut down "about half the time" on the New European Driving Cycle. A press release
below has more details, along with a video Volvo released in 2011 to show how its system works.
Continue reading Volvo testing F1-style KERS system, cites 25% fuel economy bump [w/video]
Volvo testing F1-style KERS system, cites 25% fuel economy bump [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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April 29th, 2013
Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Volvo, Australia
With the
Volvo S60 Polestar going on sale in Australia this June,
Volvo has finally released images and specs for the production version of the performance sedan. While no official build number has been announced, one image of the car's steering wheel shows a serial number plaque that says "No. 000/100" indicating that production will likely be limited to just 100 units in Australia. The press release states that the Australia run of
Polestar-tuned S60s is a "pilot project" and that other potential markets are "under investigation."
Although it looks very similar to the
S60 Polestar Concept we first saw at the
LA Auto Show last year, the production version of the car sports a few changes. Visually, the front and rear fascias have been slightly modified from the concept car, as have the matte-black wheels. Inside, we see a different steering wheel that adds the aforementioned build sequence plaque but loses the suede leather accents, and there is also a sportier looking shift lever with a chrome handle that features a Polestar logo.
As for performance figures, rather than the 508-horsepower of the S60 Polestar Concept, the production version will be limited to 350 hp and more than 368 pound-feet of torque, which is still an improvement of about 25 hp and at least 14 lb-ft over a 2013 S60 R-Design. Polestar also tuned the six-speed automatic transmission and Haldex all-wheel-drive system for optimal performance leading to a top speed of 155 miles per hour and a 0-62 mph time of 4.9 seconds. The production S60 Polestar will still get suspension, brake and aerodynamic upgrades.
For the full list of vehicle specs,
scroll down for the official press release, and while pricing has yet to be announced, it will likely be far less than the
$300,000 someone reportedly paid for the S60 Polestar Concept.
Continue reading First production Volvo S60 Polestar shown off
First production Volvo S60 Polestar shown off originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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April 18th, 2013
Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Volvo, Australia
The
Volvo S60 Polestar Concept may be entering limited production in Australia and, depending how the Aussies take to this Swedish super sports sedan, could then be made available worldwide. The news
comes from Austrlia's GoAuto, which claims to have received early info from its sources inside
Volvo and its tuning/motorsport arm,
Polestar.
Polestar released a short teaser video this week (watch it
below) of what appears to be the S60 Polestar Concept clipping the snowy apex of an ice track's turn. The only information given with the teaser were the words "Limited Edition. Soon in Australia."
Unveiled last June, the S60 Polestar concept has since
made the rounds at auto shows,
visited Jay Leno's Garage, played on the track with its
future competition, and even secured a home for itself with a buyer who reportedly is
paying Volvo some $300,000 to own it.
The S60 Polestar Concept is about the meanest machine one can imagine making out of Volvo's sports sedan. Packing 508 horsepower and 424 pound-feet of torque from its heavily modified T6 engine, then routing those revolutions through a six-speed manual transmission to all four wheels, the S60 Polestar is said to cover the sprint to 62 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds. A lower and wider body, brakes by Brembo, suspension bits by Ohlins and a diet to delete some weight make this car a serious issue for
M3 and
C63 AMG owners everywhere.
GoAuto's sources say the production version's performance will be dialed back a bit from the concept's, but we'll have to wait until Volvo and Polestar make this sedan's production official to find out by how much.
Continue reading Volvo S60 Polestar entering limited production in Australia [w/video]
Volvo S60 Polestar entering limited production in Australia [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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April 10th, 2013
Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Etc., Crossover, Hatchback, Volvo
Volvo has put together R-Design packages for its newly facelifted
S60,
V60 and
XC60 models, and for those who want more bark to go with them, there's a power upgrade for the S60 and V60 courtesy of
Polestar performance. The aesthetics start with new front and rear fascias, the grille going frameless and Tech Matte Black with a silk metal diagonal bar, the back end getting a finned diffuser and round R-Design tailpipes. On top of that, the S60 and V60 are lowered 15 millimeters and can be fitted with 19-inch versions of the company's Ixion wheel pattern.
The R-Design sport chassis stiffens things up, items like the rear dampers getting 20-percent stiffer while front bushings get a whopping 400-percent stiffer. Inside there's a black headliner, perforated leather mixed with nubuck and contrasting stitching on the sport seats, or a full leather option for those who love their cow, and the Adaptive Digital Display gets a blue hue when set to the Elegance appearance theme.
Buyers of the 3.0-liter T6 engine can add the Polestar performance option, which cranks things up to 329 horsepower instead of the standard 304 hp, and an exclusive accelerator pedal comes with it. More detail can be found in the press release
below.
Continue reading Volvo rolls out new R-Design versions of S60, XC60 and new V60
Volvo rolls out new R-Design versions of S60, XC60 and new V60 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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March 27th, 2013
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