RE: Is Volvo working on a secret M3 rival?

RE: Is Volvo working on a secret M3 rival?

Friday 25th May 2012

Is Volvo working on a secret M3 rival?

Web rumours suggest Volvo and Polestar Performance are working on a limited-run super-saloon


Polestar has form with fast Volvos - like this one-off concept from 2010
Polestar has form with fast Volvos - like this one-off concept from 2010
Volvo and its tuning partner, Polestar Performance, are looking into building the first genuinely performance-oriented Volvo for a good many years, at least according to reports coming out of Sweden.

Polestar, who were responsible for the fabulously lairy 400hp C30 concept from a couple of years ago and who also run Volvo's touring car projects, seem to have finally persuaded the Swedish firm that a pukka performance model is just what it needs.

Could this take on the M3?
Could this take on the M3?
The new car, which will be based on the S60 saloon, will be a rival for the BMW M3 and Merc C63 AMG.

As for what engine will be found beneath the bonnet, the whisper is that it will be a 400hp V8, even though the test mule spotted by a reader of Swedish mag Teknikens Varld is a 304hp T6 AWD model. The reasoning behind this is that TV has heard reports that Volvo has bought the residual stock of V8 engines built by Yamaha originally for the XC90 and S80. And the question, naturally, is what Volvo plans to use them for... Let's hope there are some left for Noble too, which uses the engine as a basis for the M600.

TV reckons that the answer is a limited-edition super-fast S60 to be built by Polestar Performance and possibly appearing in some form next year. Concrete details are pretty much non-existent, but expect extensive use of carbon fibre and aluminium, four-wheel drive and possibly even a six-speed sequential gearbox (though a conventional manual seems more likely).

Sounds like a pretty mouthwatering combination to us. We hope the rumours prove true...

Author
Discussion

Arun_D

Original Poster:

2,302 posts

195 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Great, If people are willing to buy it....

jon-

16,509 posts

216 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Indeed. It could be slightly better than the M3 in every way, and I'd still be surprised if it made 1/10th of the sales.

E38Ross

35,078 posts

212 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Is it going to be a rival for a 5 year old car, or a rival to the up and coming one, which will be due what, 2014?

Dave Hedgehog

14,550 posts

204 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
could be excellent and a nice change from the usual (but superb) german offerings

but it would have to be at least 10k cheaper for me to be interested

JulesB

535 posts

159 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Sounds like a cracking idea, not a fan of the newer M3's, amazing cars but not my cup of tea!

David87

6,656 posts

212 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Fantastic. I'll take mine in lemon yellow with anthracite wheels, please.

Vantagefan

643 posts

170 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
I'd sell my mother for a Polestar C30.

falkster

4,258 posts

203 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
It could be the worlds best saloon racer but it would take years for it to even come close to the M3 for the following it has.
I too would sell your mother for a Polestar!!

Vantagefan

643 posts

170 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
falkster said:
It could be the worlds best saloon racer but it would take years for it to even come close to the M3 for the following it has.
I too would sell your mother for a Polestar!!
Finally, someone on PH agrees with me!

morgs_

1,663 posts

187 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Vantagefan said:
falkster said:
It could be the worlds best saloon racer but it would take years for it to even come close to the M3 for the following it has.
I too would sell your mother for a Polestar!!
Finally, someone on PH agrees with me!
I'd sell both your mothers and one of my kidneys. Polestar if you're reading, pick me, I'm prepared to sacrfice parts of me not just others wink

Burty88

140 posts

208 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
How fast 0-124mph?

Monty Python

4,812 posts

197 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
"limited-edition" - that means it'll be expensive.

Adenauer

18,580 posts

236 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Burty88 said:
How fast 0-124mph?
Picked up a be a misprint

C.A.R.

3,967 posts

188 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Has it really been 2 years since the Polestar C30?

Where has my life gone?!

fozluvscars

150 posts

144 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
if its built in limited numbers, i imagine they'll have no problems shifting them. the new volvos are quite handsome beasts, so interested to see what it will look like

Denorth

559 posts

171 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
morgs_ said:
Vantagefan said:
falkster said:
It could be the worlds best saloon racer but it would take years for it to even come close to the M3 for the following it has.
I too would sell your mother for a Polestar!!
Finally, someone on PH agrees with me!
I'd sell both your mothers and one of my kidneys. Polestar if you're reading, pick me, I'm prepared to sacrfice parts of me not just others wink
you can take all my relatives smile

richb77

887 posts

161 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
It will need to be RWD IMO

anonymous-user

54 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
richb77 said:
It will need to be RWD IMO
More likely to be AWD

beetroute

45 posts

207 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
Don't get too excited - no matter how good the car might be, when it comes to actually building and selling some Volvo will chicken out, just like they did with the great stuff TWR used to do for them

k-ink

9,070 posts

179 months

Friday 25th May 2012
quotequote all
The C30 idea made so much more sense. I doubt this will be made either. They are as bad as Jaguar for not following through.