Volvo Polestar unveils a 620+ horsepower V8. Yes, you read that right

By Nick Jaynes December 9, 2013

Think that Volvo is a boring automaker, not capable of some mean muscle? Think again because the Swedes at Polestar, a Volvo performance company, have just unveiled their new V8 engine designed for the V8 Supercar racing series in Australia.

Volvo says is the first luxury automaker to join the series. Perhaps it’s forgetting the Mercedes-AMG team? Regardless, usually dominated by Ford and GM, the V8 Supercar series should be a bit more exciting with Volvo running the races.

The engine is called the B8444S and it’s an aluminum 60-degree block with direct injection and a redline of 7500.

Polestar engineers took its Yamaha-sourced 4.4-liter V8 and bored it out to 5.0 liters and upped compression to 10:1. Volvo hasn’t said how much power it churns out but the series requires between 620-650 horsepower. The normal, 4.4-liter production version only makes 311 hp. So doubling its power is a pretty impressive feat considering it’s naturally aspirated and not turbo or supercharged.

If you’ve never watched V8 Supercar, I suggest you check some of the races out on YouTube. It’s one of the last remaining rear-drive road course races. It has all the rough and tumble action that used to keep American on the edge of their seats before they lost interest in racing virtually altogether.

How will Volvo do against Holden, Nissan, AMG, and Ford? We’ll have to wait and see. If you’re a Volvo nerd like me, you’ll want to check back for highlights.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…

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