Volvo Polestar Tuning Program - Star Performer

Polestar Performance knows how to tweak a Volvo. This similarly Swedish company is involved with Volvo’s motorsport program (yes, there is one, apparently: Belgian Touring Cars, the World Challenge GT series... that kind of thing). And now it has some software packages available to make the street cars go faster. For the C30, C70, S40 and manual versions of the V50—all cars using a turbocharged, 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine—the Polestar treatment brings another 23 horsepower and 29 lb-ft of torque, resulting in 250 and 265 respectively. The package costs $1,295. Vehicles using the T6 3.0-liter turbo straight six—the S60, XC60 and XC70—get a boost of 25 hp and 30 lb-ft, for grand totals of 325 and 354 respectively, all for $1,495. At no time is there a penalty in fuel consumption, since that extra power is tuned to be accessed only when needed. These packages can be installed at the dealer and the original manufacturer warranty remains intact.