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2018 Volvo XC60 Polestar Digitally Imagined, But Will It Actually Happen?

This year’s edition of the poshest auto show of them all saw Volvo take a jab at the compact luxury crossover SUV segment with the all-new X60. Those in the market for the sportiest XC60 available needn’t look further than the R-Design with the T8 Twin Engine powertrain. The question is, is it a case of wishful thinking to expect an even hotter version from the Polestar skunkworks?
2018 Volvo XC60 Polestar rendering 4 photos
Photo: X-Tomi Design
2018 Volvo XC60 Polestar rendering2018 Volvo XC60 T62018 Volvo XC60 T8 Twin Engine
Hungarian pixel artist X-Tomi took to its Photoshop skills to imagine an all-out XC60 in Polestar overalls, borrowing the ginormous 22-inch wheels from the XC90 R-Design and some black paint for the mirror caps. In X-Tomi’s vision, the grille is also worthy of the murdered-out treatment. The lower part of the bumper also, meanwhile, indicates that performance is in this XC60’s nature.

The Swedish marque is mum on the subject of extending the Polestar range with a thoroughbred variant of the XC60, but all is not lost. Acquired in 2015 and responsible for the quickest Volvo ever made, the Polestar division also produces something called Performance Optimisation. In essence, this pack consists of little tweaks to the engine and transmission, resulting in quicker gear changes, faster throttle response, and other little things of this variety.

Available even for the T8 Twin Engine option, the Polestar Optimisation is nothing more and nothing less than a recalibration of the ECU/TCU. It’s known that Volvo plans to bring to market 90 Series Polestar-engineered models in due time, but a timeframe hasn’t been provided. The Swedish automaker also didn’t say anything about the scenario of turning the 2018 XC60 into a Porsche Macan Turbo Performance Package-rivaling monster.

Whatever the future holds in store for the second-generation XC60, bear in mind the T8 Twin Engine is no slouch. With a total system output of 407 PS (401 horsepower) and 640 Nm (472 lb-ft), this variant is capable of hitting the magical 100 km/h (62 mph) mark in 5.3 seconds. More impressively, it boasts an all-electric range of 45 kilometers (28 miles) on the NEDC test.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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