Wait a minute, hold the phone! What's going on here? 508bhp squeezed into a safe, sensible family saloon? That can't be right can it? Well, if Polestar, Volvo's motorsport and performance partner, gets its way, it will be right. Very right!
It's been putting the finishing touches to the S60 Polestar concept — a car so extreme (well by Volvo standards anyway) that it hits 0-100kph in 3.9 seconds. If you're struggling to comprehend just how quick that is, to help put it into perspective, the Ferrari FF (page 26) does the same sprint in 3.7 seconds. Blimey.
The stripped out 1,640kg blue-hued beast even boasts a top speed of over 300kph. Polestar's intention was to improve the Volvo driving experience with ludicrous amounts of power. We like the sound of this.
The Volvo's 3.0-litre T6 inline-six motor has been given a serious tweak to up the ante and the result is a whopping 575Nm of tyre-melting torque. This thing redlines at a very healthy, not to mention noisy, 7,100rpm.
As if a Garret 3171 turbo wasn't enough, boffins have modified the cylinder heads and combustion chambers to really get the fires burning under the bonnet. They have also added a modified air intake, inlet manifold and it's been fortified with specially built conrods.
Helping this monster of a motor breathe more easily is a Ferrita 3.5in stainless steel exhaust system. Mated to the engine is a six-speed close ratio M66C manual gearbox with a Haldex all-wheel drive system with an electronic limited-slip rear differential joining it to help get those horses down on the ground.
To help keep it planted on the road or more pertinently the circuit, the concept sits 30mm lower than the standard S60 and its track width has been widened by 20mm at the front and 40mm at the back.
It's also been fitted with a new front splitter, a rear spoiler, and a carbon-fibre diffuser.
Absorbing all the road bumps is a set of Öhlins three-way shocks while reinforced anti-roll bars at either end help handling. The control arms also got the Polestar treatment, gaining uniballs at the front and back not to mention reinforced bushings.
With all that power, you need serious stopping ability and so a pair of Brembos have been called for duty. Six-piston callipers with 380mm ventilated discs have been attached to the front wheels while a pair of Polestar-Volvo callipers (302mm ventilated discs) sit at the back. Speaking of wheels, it rides on a set of 19in alloys. The interior has been swathed in Alcantara.
This one and only S60 Polestar concept has been built for a lucky chap and Volvo and Polestar say it will put it into production if there's a favourable response from markets. We'll speak for the Middle East: Build them, please!
