2009 Volvo C30 Polestar - 450bhp monster
The forgotten hot hatch concept that packed a monster 450bhp 336kW punch
FORGOTTEN FAST CARS
A manufacturer’s image is important and it is something Volvo has struggled with. On one hand it is a brand renowned for its safety prowess, with endless jokes about the cars and people who buy them. Alternatively, there’s a slightly demented side to the Swedish stalwart that loves to go racing and create spicy road-going performance cars. How else does an 850 wagon gain approval for touring car racing at the height of the BTCC frenzy?
Back then it was via a familiar and famed name, Tom Walkinshaw. The idea was to develop the five-cylinder engine while also making a monumental brand statement. It worked on both fronts, with the 850/S40 going on to great success and Volvo building on its history as a touring car winner. That’s without noting a talented young Kiwi who stuck it to Jamie Whincup in a Supercars race at Adelaide before giving a famous post-race interview.
Wherever you look there’s supporting context for the Volvo C30 Polestar Concept. Yet the real reason for its genesis is again motorsport-related – that being the 2009 Swedish Touring Car Championship. Cyan Racing, which was just a race team at that point and yet to become Polestar, claimed that title with the C30 S2000. The all-wheel drive, five-cylinder-turbo monster it created for the road was the celebration.
The 2.5-litre five-pot gained a larger intercooler and KKK K26 turbocharger as well as modified pistons, conrods and inlet camshaft. Figures were ramped up to 336kW and 510Nm – outputs only a Mercedes-AMG A45 S can approach today. To harness that grunt, the C30 Polestar used a Haldex-based AWD system with Quaife mechanical limited-slip differentials at each end. The 0-100km/h time suffers because of the six-speed manual, but at 4.2 seconds it remains rapid.
Helping it go around corners are Öhlins dampers and springs with a more responsive steering rack to boot. Brembo brakes help arrest the 290km/h top speed with 380mm discs all round, with six-piston calipers forward and four-piston calipers aft. Big 19-inch BBS alloys are wrapped in 235/35 ZR19 Pirelli P Zero tyres. The wide-body aero mimics that of the STCC car and was developed in a wind tunnel by the race team. Sadly the C30 Polestar never made it to production.
After all, building brand image can be tough to enumerate on a projected profit and loss sheet. It’s a shame because this one-off concept is Volvo at its very best: stylish, solid, yet undeniably special.
ABOVE The wild exterior is met with an equally bespoke interior. Packed with Alcantara/suede, bucket seats, Polestar blue dials and a rear strut brace, the road version of the racer left nothing on the table