Video: Volvo C30 Polestar In Action

By Todd DeMeza

Todd DeMeza

Contributing Writer BIO

Todd DeMeza has a long time interest in and passion for cars. During high school, he decided he wanted to use his enthusiasm to become an automotive... More

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781 views Jun 5, 2010

Grille - 2011 Volvo C30 2-door Coupe Auto

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 When the Volvo C30 came out, many people were disappointed that the little hatchback didn’t come with the S40 and V50’s all-wheel-drive system. While the front-wheel-drive doesn’t necessarily a horrible thing, many people wonder what would have happened if Volvo tuned the car out into an R-variant.

The Polestar concept did such a thing. Polestar, the racing firm that turns Volvos into touring cars,took the T-5 engine and pumped it out to produce more than 400 horsepower thanks to a completely rebuilt bottom end,  a larger turbo and bigger intercooler. Torque steer isn’t a problem since they also put in an all-wheel-drive system, but unlike the factory system, it uses mechanical differentials.  The rest of the car gets special bits like Brembo brakes and an Ohlins suspension.

Autocar was given a chance to drive the car around a test track, and found the car to have massive grip and felt like a production ready car.

Since the death of Volvo’s S60R and V70R, there is a lack of performance-oriented cars to bring in customers that BMW and Mercedes Benz has in their lineups. There is apparently no serious desire to build this car, as the costs would price it out of its market, but Polestar would like to become Volvo’s tuning branch.

[Source: Autocar via Youtube]