Driving Volvo's V60 Polestar, the racy wagon that sheds the blues

Pop quiz: What is “Polestar?” A) A reality show for fisherman. B) A Polish singing competition. C) The upper-echelon of Las Vegas strippers.

The answer, of course, is none of the above; Polestar is Volvo’s official racecar builder and tuning partner. And as we discovered during a recent road test, that is a pretty cool thing as well, one that can inject a whole lot of hastighet (speed) into Volvo’s stylish, safe V60 wagon.

But before we go there, let’s talk about “619 Rebel Blue." While the V60 Polestar is also available in black, after seeing it in this exclusive, high-energy hue, we can’t imagine it in anything else. The body’s numerous mods—some subtle, others not so subtle—are flattered by the color, particularly the deep front splitter and the long, sculpted spoiler that cantilevers off the rear window. Blacking out the window trim and mirror caps, and snugging the body low over a set of gorgeous 20-inch wheels wrapped in Z-rated Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.

Certainly, Polestar’s signature blue is not a color that many cars, especially station wagons, can pull off. And seeing one constitutes a special occasion, as only 80 V60 Polestar wagons and 40 S60 Polestar sedans were brought to the U.S. last year, all of which sold out quickly.

So it’s rare. And blue. It’s also fast; Polestar took the 3-liter inline-6 that powers the 325-hp V60 R-Design and dialed up the boost, resulting in 345 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, distributed to all four wheels via a Haldex all-wheel drive system. A six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters is tasked with the shifting, and features separate sport and manual shift modes.

This is not a timid powertrain; when the power arrives, especially at midrange revs, it does not let up. Volvo says that the Polestar can rocket to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds on its way to a stratospheric top speed (for a Volvo, anyway) of 155 mph. Straight-line grip is outstanding, with nary a whiff of torque steer from the front wheels, thanks to the all-wheel drive system’s rear axle bias and torque vectoring.