The brand of Volvo, continues to grow at a great rate in all markets of the world.

Polestar, the performance brand of Volvo Cars, has reached the milestone of one hundred thousand powertrain optimisations for Volvo cars around the globe since its introduction. The milestone is reached as sales hits an all-time high in the first five months of 2017 with more than 12,000 cars optimised - a growth of over 30 per cent compared to last year.

High demand on the latest generation Polestar optimisations for the Volvo Cars Drive-E powertrain is a key factor to the increase, with the all-new Volvo XC60 set to be included in the optimisation range from July.

“This is an important milestone for Polestar and proof of the increasing demand from performance-oriented Volvo customers around the world,” said Johan Lindqvist, Head of Global Sales at Polestar. “We are well on our way to our best year in terms of sales and we have further exciting products just around the corner.”

The most popular Volvo model for optimisation is the XC60, closely followed by the XC90 and V60, with China, Sweden and the United States as the top three markets in terms of sales volumes.

The latest generation Polestar optimisation affects five key areas of the powertrain in standard Volvo road cars, including engine performance, throttle response, gearshift speed, gear hold functionality and off-throttle response. The changes are made to increase driving pleasure and performance, based on learnings from thousands of laps on racing circuits all over the world by Cyan Racing, the motorsport partner of Polestar.

All changes of the Polestar Optimisation are made with certified emissions, fuel consumption, service intervals and Volvo warranties unchanged.

Volvo Cars have announced the launch of the quickest cars they have ever made, the Polestar S60 & V60

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, and Polestar, the performance brand owned by Volvo Cars, have announced the launch of the quickest cars they have ever made – the new 367hp Polestar S60 sedan and V60 wagon.

Both cars make the zero to 60MPH sprint in 4.7 seconds and are limited to a top speed of 155MPH, powered by a specially-enhanced version of Volvo’s award-winning four cylinder Drive-E powertrain.

Polestar has taken an original V60 and S60 and added a bigger turbo, a supercharger, new conrods, new camshafts, a larger air intake and a higher capacity fuel pump to augment the engine, and matched it with a BorgWarner four-wheel drive system and the new Polestar-optimised eight-speed Geartronic automatic gearbox.

On top of this new performance-optimized equipment, Polestar has radically reduced the car’s weight. The Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar are 53 lbs. lighter over the front axle and 44 lbs. lighter in total compared to the previous model years.

“These cars are properly quick,” said Niels Möller, Chief Operating Officer, Polestar. “But they are more than that. They combine Polestar’s 20 years racing pedigree with Volvo’s inherent pragmatism and engineering heritage. These are very quick cars that you can use every day of the year.”

These two new models also mark the globalization of the Polestar brand.

The first road legal Polestar cars were launched in 2014 to limited markets. Today, Polestar is delighted to announce that it is expanding the number of markets where a Polestar will be sold from 13 to 47 and doubling production volume from 750 cars a year up to 1500.

Both cars trace their heritage to the new Volvo S60 Polestar TC1, the all-new FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) race car from Polestar Cyan Racing. The new road cars use the same base chassis, engine and philosophy of the team behind the development.

“While used in vastly different ways, these cars share more than just technology. The core philosophy is the same, developed by people with the same passion. It is about creating performance that can be used in all situations, no matter if it’s about winning a championship or being able to enjoy a safe, functional and fun-to-drive car all year,” said Thed Björk, Polestar Cyan Racing race and development driver.

The race and road car feature a further developed four-cylinder Drive-E engine, with the two-liter, twin charged engine of the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar producing 367 horsepower and 347 ft. lbs.. The changes compared to the standard T6 engine include a bigger turbo, new conrods, new camshafts, a larger air intake and a higher capacity fuel pump.

Despite the increased performance, fuel consumption and emissions are at a class-leading level of 7.8 l/100 km and 179 CO2 g/km, further proving the efficiency of Volvo’s Drive-E powertrain.

Part of the improved performance and especially handling compared to the previous model years is an optimized weight distribution.

“All changes made to the car are about improving drivability and efficiency. The base of the new engine carries motorsport technology with solutions like the combination of turbo and supercharger, lightweight materials and more. This works hand-in-hand with our core philosophy and has enabled us to evolve the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar,” said Henrik Fries, Vice President R&D, Polestar.

Other new features on the cars include a new 20” lightweight rim, Polestar calibrated electro-assisted power steering and a new slotted brake disc of 371 millimetres.