It's no secret that we're big fans of Polestar Volvos at PH. The '
optimisation kits
' may not have quite delivered but the
V60
barmy concepts
have more than displayed the potential of the alliance.
Now about that 500hp one...
So it's very pleasing to report the acquisition of Polestar outright by Volvo. It appears a very similar deal to Mercedes' incorporation of AMG in 1993; a successful independent tuner with a close relationship to the manufacturer brought in as the official performance arm.
So far it's been confirmed that all Polestar employees will become Volvo employees but that the Polestar racing team will continue under Christian Dahl's tutelage. You'll have to employ your best Scandinavian detective skills for the numbers though as no financial details have been disclosed.
What does this mean for quick Volvos in the future? More of them, for a start. This year around 750 S60 and V60 Polestars will be sold, with aims for that figure to reach 1,000-1,500 cars "in the medium term under Volvo's ownership". There are already rumours of a V40 Polestar, and would an XC90 Polestar be entirely ridiculous? There are a new range of (electrified) engines for Polestar to work with, including which will hopefully ensure future optimisation kits feature a little more, well, optimisation than previously.
So fear not, the future of Volvo is not simply diesel hybrids and school run or SUVs. Or diesel hybrid school run SUVs. Expect more news on the agreement soon. When's the V40 coming?