Volvo reveals 400bhp C30

Fifth Gear  Thursday 22 April 2010

Volvo has shown off a hardcore version of its C30 to take on the Ford Focus RS in the hot hatch stakes.

The C30 Polestar Performance Concept Prototype has been designed by Volvo’s Swedish Touring Car Championship partners, Polestar, and was supposedly made to see what happens when racing car designers are let loose on a road car.

From the few pictures Polestar has released, it certainly looks like a worthy venture – the C30’s design seems to suit a lairy bodykit – in this case inspired by the Swedish Touring Car. Hopefully they will have tuned it to cope with the insane 400bhp output of the 2.5-litre turbocharged T5 engine the engineers have slotted under the bonnet too.

It’s certainly got enough new tech under the skin to handle the boost in performance; the C30 Polestar Performance Concept Prototype features Brembo brakes, a Haldex all-wheel drive system and leather racing seats.

The car is on display at the Gothenburg motor show from today until Sunday.