Volvo is launching versions of the V40 hatchback that are expected to help restore the automaker’s reputation for producing top-performing vehicles. At the end of 2011, a 254hp T5 version of the new V40 hatchback will be launched. Volvo had once been the favorite of fast-barge fans for the T5 & R versions of the 850 and V70. The T5 shares a lot of its underpinnings with the front-drive Focus ST. Then Volvo will provide an all-wheel-drive version of the V40 T5 together with the front-drive model. As a result, the AWD model will form the basis of a more exciting V40 from Polestar, Volvo's tuning division.
According to Volvo's UK managing director Nick Connor, the V40 Polestar would require a minimum of 10% higher power than the T5, placing its output at 280hp. But this may go up to 300hp. The enhanced V40 would then compete with rivals like the newly released BMW M135i that was driven by PH earlier this month as well as the Audi S3. Volvo has yet to finalize the pricing and the date of arrival but it’s likely to still be priced from £30,000 when it starts being available in 2013.
Official details of the hotter Volvos are expected to be revealed at the Paris motor show in September, according to Connor. The V40 Polestar, when priced at £30,000, would make it much more affordable than the S60 Polestar, which will get a limited production run and it won’t be restricted to the one-off concept that PH had driven in June. Connor said that the handbuilt 508hp S60 Polestar would be offered for about £100,000. He said that he anticipated that there would be 'one or two' customers for this model in the UK. [source: Pistonheads]
