2018 Volvo XC60 Gains Hot Polestar Variant, but Newly Minted Performance Brand Wants a Super Coupe

Not only is Volvo updating its aged XC60 crossover for the 2018 model year, it’s also turning up the heat. The handsome next-generation model will gain a Polestar-tuned T8 variant, Volvo’s performance arm has announced, meaning XC60 buyers will have a fourth output choice to select from this fall.

As you’ll recall, Polestar isn’t just a specialty house tasked with tuning Volvo products anymore. The Swedish automaker recently spun off Polestar into its own brand, with the tuning division rebranded as Polestar Engineered. It’s the latter entity that’s tasked with massaging 421 horsepower out of the top-flight hybrid version of the XC60.

However, now that Polestar is in the business of building its own standalone models, crossovers and sedans just won’t cut it. For its first Polestar-badged model, the new automaker wants a big, fast coupe.

According to Britain’s Autocar, the brand’s first model will be a sporty coupe, possibly bound for a September reveal at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Rumored to possess a 600-horsepower drivetrain, a carbon fiber-heavy body, and undoubtedly a steep sticker price, the model will almost certainly borrow its architecture from Volvo and parent company Geely.

Volvo designed its modular platforms with versatility in mind. For a specialty coupe, the SPA platform underpinning the next-generation Volvo S60 seems a likely candidate.

As for the powerplant, both divisions are vowing to make all future products electrified in some way, with Polestar becoming a purveyor of boutique performance hybrids. Don’t expect to find any more than four cylinders under the hood. One or more fully electric Polestar models could follow, though there’s even more mystery surrounding the identity of a second rumored model.

As for Volvo, the Polestar Engineered version of the XC60 combines gasoline and electric current to great effect. While the T8 plug-in hybrid version is no slouch, 407 combined horsepower from a turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and rear electric motor clearly wasn’t enough for Volvo execs. With Polestar tuning, the model gains 21 hp and a boost in mid-range torque.

The go-fast Swedes have also worked their magic on the eight-speed automatic’s shift times which, coupled with the power bump, could bring the top-end XC60’s 0-60 mph time under five seconds. As it stands, the XC60 T8 makes the dash to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.3 seconds.

[Image: Volvo Cars]