When Volvo announced it was producing another run of its sporty S60 and V60 Polestar models to meet unexpected demand, it also mentioned that there were plans in the works to spread goodness from its racing partner Polestar to other models. Just a few months later, Volvo has confirmed exactly what we wanted to hear: That it’s rolling out a slew of tuning kits for models equipped with the automaker’s next-generation Drive-E turbocharged four-cylinder engines.
For starters, fast Volvos are just inherently cool. But besides that, it is critical for Volvo’s proposed expansion of its production-car involvement with Polestar to include Drive-E engines. That’s because, while Polestar currently offers a power kit for Volvo’s turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six—and modifies things slightly more for the full-blown S60 and V60 Polestar models—future Volvos will be powered exclusively by smaller engines. Specifically, they’ll be powered solely by Drive-E three- and four-cylinder engines, so getting a head start on juicing more power from them now seems prescient.
So far Volvo has said only that the new “Polestar Performance Optimization” for the Drive-E engines will encompass the whole family, including the gasoline-fed T6 and T5 (both 2.0-liter turbo fours, only with different outputs), as well as the diesel D4 and D5 fours offered globally. (Confusingly, the old turbo inline-six is also referred to internally as “T6,” but as we said, its days are numbered.) Unlike today’s Polestar power kit, the Polestar Performance Optimization (PPO) not only adds power, but it also tweaks the transmission on automatic-transmission variants.
According to Polestar, the PPO is “optimized for engine performance, throttle response, gearshift speed, gearshift precision, and off-throttle response.” The outfit adds: “All changes are made with certified emissions, fuel consumption, service intervals, and Volvo warranty unchanged.” Final output figures and pricing is still to come; we’re also awaiting official confirmation that the Polestar kits will be offered stateside. We can’t imagine that the brand wouldn’t make the Polestar goodies available here, as it already sells the Polestar upgrade for the turbo six-cylinder on U.S.-spec cars. The Drive-E T5 and T6 four-cylinders are the base engines in the S60, V60, S60 and V60 Cross Country, XC70, XC60, and even the all-new XC90. Volvo’s global press materials for the Polestar Performance Optimization include photos of a Polestar-badged XC60, V60, and the V40 not sold here, but otherwise make no mention of specific vehicles.
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