Limited edition S60 in SA

Eight countries got to experience the new Volvo S60 Polestar last year. But due to demand, 750 more cars were produced for this year and another six countries were added to the list – one of them being SA.

The bad news is we are only getting 25 of these cars and they have all already been spoken for by customers who have R735 000 to spend and want to experience a Volvo that is quite special.

Volvo says the S60 is designed to carry Polestar’s engineering philosophy to deliver an engaging, precise and confident driving experience in all weather and on all roads.

The development of the car has been ongoing, picking up from the C30 and S60 Concept cars and the Australian S60. Thousands of development kilometres were driven on twisty mountain roads, on the Autobahn and test tracks from the south of Europe to the frozen north of Sweden. To give us motoring media a small taste of what this means, we were invited out to the Red Star Raceway east of Johannesburg.

Thed Björk, Polestar racing and development driver, was on hand for a few intro laps and then we were given the chance to play. This is not just a software upgraded Volvo you are used to getting, this is a car completely developed by Polestar and features many changes and upgrades across the board, from software to hardware.

Chassis

Upgrades include modifications made to increase rigidity of the chassis to cater for the 80% stiffer springs relative to the standard S60 R-Design. These changes are combined with high performance and specifically tailored Öhlins shock absorbers that are fully adjustable on the shock – which is a first for a production car as far as I know – and cool-looking 20-inch Polestar wheels.

Brakes

The brake system has undergone substantial modifications. Most visible are the 371mm ventilated front discs and six-piston Brembo calipers that did ensure a high level of braking performance throughout the day.

Aerodynamics

To reflect the increased performance of the S60 Polestar, positive aerodynamic effects have been achieved through subtle, yet efficient, modifications based on data from tests in the Volvo Cars wind tunnel. The changes are visible, with the front splitters optimising the airflow underneath the car, as well as a new rear spoiler and diffuser, increasing down force.

Engine

The six-cylinder turbocharged T6 engine has undergone extensive development with a new twinscroll turbo and intercooler to produce 257kW at 5 700rpm and 500Nm at 3 000rpm. The engine exhales through a new 100mm stainless steel exhaust system, making for a throaty engine note.

Transmission

The six-speed automatic gearbox features a new paddle shift system that, together with the Polestar, developed Haldex four-wheel drive system is said to take the car from 0-100km/h in just 4.9 seconds with the launch control function and on to a limited top speed of 250km/h. The gearbox, as well as the four-wheel drive system and traction control system, have been recalibrated in order to provide an active driving experience and maximum grip in all situations.

Interior

The interior has been reworked with new details, materials and Polestar colours, such as the steering wheel, seats and more, with the sole purpose of increasing driver support and control.

“Development work has been focused on the overall package in order to create a car you want to use every day,” said Henrik Fries, S60 Polestar technical project manager.

So did this translate into everything I expected on the track? The answer is yes and no.

Let me explain…

Volvos are extremely good cars; they are exceptionally safe too and because of this there is always a degree of caution engineered into the way they behave when pushed to the limit and beyond.

Red Star is an exceptionally tight circuit and even more so if you only use the short loop as we did. This means a full bodied luxury sedan with AWD is not going to revel in being thrown around here, and when pushed the S60 still exhibited some understeer I wished could have been dialled out with a slightly more active rear end to rotate the car before a hard corner.

The only other track gripe I had – and it is something that won’t be a problem on the road, I reckon – is that when asking the car to select second gear before a corner the gearbox would wait a moment while waiting for the rpm to drop a little more before taking the gear, and that means you would miss your planned turn-in point by a few metres and have to slow the car down a bit more than you wanted to before attacking the corner.

This is not an M3 or C63, but you knew this already and the price alone suggests it will do battle with the likes of the 340i and C450. So here is a very viable option if you are a Volvo fan that wants a little more excitement.