Future competition from... Volvo?

[mkoesel]

This is just a one-off for now, but it is a very interesting one nevertheless. And they are apparently contemplating building more if there is demand.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/17/p...wer-six-speed/

They don't mention whether the displacement is increased from the stock T6. It doesn't sound like it. Assuming this is the case, for what it is worth, it makes 508hp / 2.953L = 172hp/L. Even if they drop it down by 10% (say) for production, they are still over 150hp/L.

On a side note, that blue looks fantastic.

*Note: There is no F8x M3/M4 vs. forum yet, so this forum will house such threads for now.

[Levi]

Yes, I posted this car on some other forum. Apparently displacement is not increased, so it stays a 3.0l I6 but has a Garrett 3171 turbocharger. Thanks to AWD (Haldex E-LSD Gen4) it manages to go from 0-100 km/h in 3.9 sec with 6 speed manual gearbox. Weight is of 1640 kg, less than M E9X, but more than M F8X. It has Öhlins coilovers and 6 piston 380 mm brakes. It has alot of potential. Unfortuntely it is not a FR layout, but even designwise the new Volvos look good (V40, S60, XC60).

[SCOTT26]

My wife uses a Copper Volvo S60 as a business car and although it is not a BMW it does drive exceptionally well , with noticeable dynamics and steeing communication. Adding Performance to the mix could bring it a formidable rival to the next M3 Sedan, but with the M3 Sedan again it is not about power more about precision so the numbers might not be as high as Volvo or indeed Mercedes-Benz and Audi but the driving experience is considered a higher priority than numbers.

Another plus is the interior of the S60, especially the trim which combined with leather and chrome is highly reflective of high end scandinavian furniture which is the kind of idea behind the BMW 3er "Modern" line.

[Remonster]

This increased competition from Volvo and Cadillac with their ATS is great. That S60 Polestar is a seriously good looking car inside and out, I'd love to drive one if it makes it to production.

[swamp2]

Cool car. Better in the M3 vs. forum section?

[Zlaatan]

I personally love this car and I really hope that it makes it to the production stage. If they ever want to start selling more cars (outside of Sweden at least) they need some iconic cars like this.

They finally got the styling right, the new V40 is the best looking car in it's class IMO, so now all they need are some performance models as well! =)

[pkim1079]

i would totally drive this thing....wonder what it would feel like with a gt35.....pretty sure it already pulls real hard. and it looks awesome.

[Tacoma]

My 2 cents, the key is going to be in their pricing. If it's priced close to the M3 or the lower priced C63 AMG, then the Volvo is going to be a tough sell unless you're looking for AWD.

They should price themselves more like Acura or Infiniti and less like MB or BMW. That's the issue I've had with Volvos of the past but now that it's Chinese owned, hopefully things will change.

[FC]

I would never trust volvo to deliver a proper sporty car.

I owned a V70R for 4 years and teh execution was terrible. I would MUCH rather drive my 328iT than the V70R. Among my gripes:

-Crappy turning radius
-powertrain tuning (ran out of breath at high rpm)
-Suspension tuning was awful
-Seating position adjustability sucked.
-Brake feel (despite awesoem brembos all around) was poor
-Engine note was bad

[cged14]

meh, competition just breeds better products. like some of the above posts, i think it's great that caddy and volvo are stepping up to the plate...forces the germans to step up their game, too.

[pkim1079]

Originally Posted by Tacoma

but now that it's Chinese owned, hopefully things will change.

scratch that i would NOT buy this thing....haha

[10tonvinyl]

that car is beautiful...its no BMW thou
just the badge alone makes ppl jelous, not sure youd get that same feeling with a volvo

[Blindside_137]

never liked the look of any volvo.. and yes I'm shallow when it comes to cars

[M3maniac20]

I hope Volvo is going to do a makeover on all their cars, like they have with the S60. I drove the T5 as a rental, and that was a great car. Loads of power, I can't imagine what the T6 with AWD drives like. Volvo is really stepping up their game and they aren't the boring station wagon anymore.

[Levi]

Forget it this car. ATM, being a custom built Volvo, it has a pricetag of 300.000 $, somebody in the US bought it. For this price I'd add 100K and get an LFA.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Levi

Forget it this car. ATM, being a custom built Volvo, it has a pricetag of 300.000 $, somebody in the US bought it. For this price I'd add 100K and get an LFA.

Right, it sold for that much because it was a one-off. An M3 concept car, for example, would likely go for around that much too. If Volvo were to put it into production, they would likely target pricing somewhere around the next M3.

[mkoesel]

Well it sounds like this is not likely to be real competition:

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/13/v...ar-s60-a-prod/

Much cheaper than the original one-off, but still much too high. On the other hand, US pricing tends to be much lower than abroad so maybe they could get this down to $100k USD. Or with some concessions, perhaps down to $80k USD which might actually make it feasible. Although really I think $60k USD as much as most folks would really be willing to pay for a Volvo, even a very fast one.

[mkoesel]

Well it sounds like this is not likely to be real competition:

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/13/v...ar-s60-a-prod/

Much cheaper than the original one-off, but still much too high. On the other hand, US pricing tends to be much lower than abroad so maybe they could get this down to $100k USD. Or with some concessions, perhaps down to $80k USD which might actually make it feasible. Although really I think $60k USD is as much as most folks would really be willing to pay for a Volvo, even a very fast one.