Polestar can do miracles in the chassis department, but while we wait for Volvo’s promised full-on performance models to surface, their racing team will upgrade almost any Drive-E powertrain as well. This is good news.
The four-cylinder Drive-E powertrain debuted in the XC90 and the twin-charged 2.0 can produce up to 316 horsepower even without the added hybrid power you get in the T8. With that much power linked to Volvo’s new eight-speed automatic, you’re already in for some speed, but powerful family haulers are only the beginning.
Polestar’s Performance Optimizations wants to take your T6, T5, D5 and D4-powered Volvos to the next level, releasing 140 different variations of optimizations over the coming months.
Polestar promises better throttle response, optimized mid-range performance and faster gear changes with different shifting points and no chance of unwanted changes mid-corner.
They say off-throttle response has been improved too to keep these Polestar-tuned cars at their peak when you need all the speed you can get.
So, Volvo < R-Design < Polestar Performance Optimizations < Polestar.
Not bad Sweden, not bad.