Volvo S60 Polestar Gothenburg debut

The Volvo S60 Polestar – a BMW M3 basher – is due to debut in Gothenburg on 16th June 2012 and could get as much as 500bhp.

Yes, Volvo are busy downsizing their engines and trying to up the quality perception of their cars at the same time, in an aim to join the proper premium club inhabited by the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Jaguar.

But that doesn’t mean Volvo should forsake performance in their cars, because even if performance models are not the bread and butter for premium car makers they are the golden halo that casts a premium gloss on lesser models. Which is why Volvo are pushing their Polestar Performance models. And now it looks like we’re about to get the first full-blown Volvo Polestar.

Volvo are teasing the arrival of the Volvo S60 Polestar at the TTA Racing Elite Series Gothenburg City Race in the video below, the perfect way to give what looks to be a concept for a production model some track credentials from the off, and ram home the point that the S60 Polestar has been born out of Volvo’s racing experience.

What we don’t yet know is what’s going to be under the bonnet of the S60 Polestar. It could be a seriously fettled and boosted version of the 3.0 litre six-pot already lurking under the bonnet of the S60 T6, but 500bhp seems a bit of a stretch for that.

What seems more likely is a version of the Yamaha sourced V8 that lurks under the bonnet of the XC90 (well, used to before Volvo caught green disease and dropped it) which may not sound that promising. But the very same engine can be found – suitably fettled – under the nose of the Noble M600, where no one could accuse it of not delivering.

All of which sounds rather promising. We’ll find out more when the Volvo S60 Polestar arrives on 16th June in Gothenburg.