Polestar is working up its first all-Polestar production car, but back in 2008 it started work on its first all-Polestar race car, the five-cylinder C30 S2000. It. Sounded. Awesome.
Polestar had run other Volvos before, but the C30 was its first dedicated project. Its first season was 2009, though a bunch of these videos go back to 2008.
What stands out to me is how unbelievably cambered the rear wheels are. Look at this!
Making front-wheel-drive race cars go fast is always such a wacky art.
Finding info on the car is a bit of a challenge, but I can tell you that, since it complied with S2000 regulations, it was a 2.0-liter, naturally-aspirated. As such, Polestar did a lot of work to get it to make power. Probably explains the intake noise, which is extremely my shit.
Listen to this!
In any case, the car was the fastest thing in the Swedish Touring Car Championship in its debut year, and though Wikipedia claims it was unreliable, it still narrowly clinched the title for the national series. That doesn’t interest me as much as how it sounds. And also how sideways it could go.
Apparently there’s one still kicking around Volvo somewhere. Having now heard it, I have to go see it.