Volvo previews Polestar Engineered S60 T8 Twin Engine

Volvo has teased two pictures of its Polestar Engineered S60 T8 Twin Engine ahead of the reveal of the Swedish car-maker's BMW 5 Series rival next week.

Posting head-on and aerial shots of the new Scandinavian sports sedan, Volvo has confirmed the Polestar Engineered S60 will be the first of three models to receive upgrades from its new performance brand.

In 2019, the S60 will be joined by Polestar Engineered V60 and XC60 SUV.

Originally, it was thought Polestar would no longer offer performance upgrades for core Volvo models following Polestar's transition to a standalone car brand but that's clearly not the case following the launch of the Polestar Engineered sub-brand.

Interestingly, the new updates will only be offered on the T8 plug-in hybrid – which is consistent with Polestar's brand pledge that it would only focus on electrified and pure-electric performance vehicles.

Pricing hasn't been announced for the new go-faster goodies offered by the performance division, but it's thought most markets will offer the Polestar Engineered mods as a trim level rather than dealer-fit upgrades.

What is involved with the upgrades is a power bump for the existing T8 that raises total power of the turbo- and supercharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain from 294kW/640Nm to 305kW/670Nm.

There's no word on performance figures, but as well as improving power Polestar claims the automatic gearbox's gearchanges have been improved and overall fuel consumption is reduced.

Tick the box for the Polestar Engineered kit and the S60 T8 also gets revised sprints and adjustable Ohlins dampers. A strut brace completes the chassis changes, improving rigidity, while a set of lightweight alloy wheels reduce unsprung mass.

Six-piston Brembo brakes and large slotted discs and performance pads help reign in the extra performance offered by the upgrades.

Externally, there are subtle Polestar Engineered badges and chrome exhaust outlets, while inside new yellow seatbelts reflect Polestar's move to a yellow hero colour.

The Polestar Engineered model, along with the entire S60 sedan range will be unveiled next week at an event held at the car-maker's new US manufacturing plant in South Carolina.