Hot Volvo S60 T8 Twin Engine Polestar Engineered previewed

Volvo has announced a new range-topping version of its upcoming S60 that will use high-performance Polestar parts and get a boosted electrified powertrain, as shown in new preview images.

The S60 T8 Twin Engine Polestar Engineered, as it is called, will sit above the regular T8 Twin Engine variant of the new S60, which is due for reveal next week but was leaked online last month. It is the first of three confirmed Polestar Engineered models.

The other two will join the V60 and XC60 ranges in 2019 and kick-start Volvo’s shift towards electrification, plans for which will see 25% of the brand’s line-up using electrified power by 2025.

“Electric cars are our future,” said Hakan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo. “Today starts a new era of Volvo electrified models enhanced by Polestar’s performance engineering prowess. This strategy is firmly grounded in our shared belief in an electric future for the car industry.”

Volvo has confirmed that the top S60 model will use a reworked version of the T8 Twin Engine’s hybrid powertrain, which comprises a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine mated to an electric motor.

It produces a peak of 409bhp and 494b ft of torque, up from 395bhp and 472b ft in the regular T8 model. Volvo said that the software upgrades used to achieve this also unlock greater fuel economy and improved pure-electric performance while smoothing out the eight-speed gearbox’s operation through more effective torque fill.

Polestar Engineered parts include monoblock Brembo brake callipers painted in gold, slotted brake discs and Öhlins shock absorbers for the multi-link front and rear suspension.

The shocks are borrowed from the Polestar 1 hybrid performance car, meaning they are adjustable. The strut brace that supports them to enhance front-end handling is also taken from the 1.

Additionally, new lightweight wheels reduce unsprung mass, while chrome exhaust tailpipes and gold-coloured seatbelts emphasise the car’s Polestar links.

Henrik Green, senior vice-president of research and development at Volvo, said that the parts have been “fine-tuned to work together, delivering a responsive and exciting driver’s car”.

Volvo will reveal the new S60 next week at its first US manufacturing plant in Charleston, South Carolina. The facility will handle production for all S60s as the first Volvo model to be made in the US.

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