Volvo XC90 takes to the track as part of multi-pronged Polestar assault

Volvo is readying itself for a touring car return, when a pair of Polestar-prepped S60s will compete in the WTCC

'People like SUVs as urban cruisers, so why not have an XC that can go on the track?'

Volvo is planning a track-ready version of its XC90 SUV. That might sound like a ridiculous contradiction in terms, but Niels Moller of its Polestar performance brand doesn’t see why. ‘People really like (SUVs) as urban cruisers,’ he says. ’So why not have an XC that can go on the track as well?’

Talking of tracks, Volvo is also readying itself for a return to touring car action in 2016, when a pair of Polestar-prepped S60s will compete in the T1 class of the WTCC.

And the performance version of the road-going Polestar S60 is in line for a new engine, too. Volvo’s latest four-cylinder petrol unit is currently being reworked by the tuning house to give a projected 350bhp; when it’s ready, it will replace the current six-pot in the hot S60 and V60 alike.

As if all that’s not enough, Polestar is also turning its hand to the creation of a hot hybrid engine. This will be a turbocharged and supercharged 2.0 Drive-E – which, as well as being faster, will achieve a near-50% reduction in CO2 emissions.