Volvo V60 Broadens Polestar's Market

Up until now, Polestar has only been marketing its cars in 13 countries with an annual production of 750 cars. Having produced many a hot Volvo, it's now time to double production to 1,500 units a year and sell them in 47 countries.

Usually, the V60 family car is available with a T4 petrol engine, or D2, D2 ECO, D3 and D4 diesels. Some models are even available with the D5 and D6 plug-in diesel hybrids. It's the T6, however, that Polestar is interested in.

This turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol unit has been modified in order to produce a full 362 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 470 Nm of torque across a 3,100-5,100 rpm bracket. It can provide a maximum of 2.0 bar of boost, and will rev freely up to 7,000 rpm.

Polestar have opted for an 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters to optimise both performance and efficiency. It has an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. For the statistic people out there, here are some of the V60 Polestar's sprint times:

• 0-100 km/h (62 mph) - 4.8 seconds
• 0-200 km/h (124 mph) - 17.4 seconds
• 0-60 mph - 4.5 seconds
• 0-120 mph - 15.8 seconds

With supercar-rivalling performance, Polestar has managed to keep the V60 a few kilos under the 1,800 kg mark. This helps it boast a reasonable and respectable figure of just under 35 mpg, however CO2 emissions aren't great at 186 g/km. It has a 67.5-litre fuel tank giving it a theoretical range of over 500 miles.

As standard, the V60 Polestar comes with Launch Control and a Sport+ mode as well as front splitters, a rear spoiler and diffuser. Inside, the sports seats and steering wheel get an attractive contrast blue stitching. The only option for this car is a sunroof.

It's difficult to give the V60 Polestar a direct competitor. Despite having a larger engine, the BMW 340i Touring takes a longer 5.1 seconds to reach 62 mph, with 322 bhp from a 3.0-litre straight-six. The Audi A4 Avant has only got a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol with 249 bhp, making it even slower at 6.0 seconds. Look away from the premium market and you'll find yourself with a 2.8-litre turbo-V6-powered Vauxhall Insignia VXR SuperSports with 321 bhp and a sprint time of over 6 seconds. If you increase the engine size, you could be looking at a Mercedes-AMG C 63 Estate with 469 bhp and a time of 4.2 seconds.

This is the reason that the V60 Polestar is such an important car. It beats rivals on performance yet returns impressive running costs.

As well as the V60 Polestar estate, Volvo will also be selling the S60 Polestar saloon, however unfortunately for us it won't be on sale here in the UK.