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Volvo S60 Polestar Concept looking Smurfy in Jay Leno's Garage

Is it just us, or has Jay Leno's Garage evolved from an intimate, off-the-cuff video series designed to show off the late-night comedian's automobile collection into something a lot more ambitious and... mainstream? This isn't a complaint, exactly, as Leno has been putting out engaging videos at an increasingly furious pace. However, we can't help but note that the subjects have largely graduated from the funnyman's steam-powered eccentricities and forgotten classics to lots of new production and concept cars, often with automaker execs in tow. It's almost as if the series is turning into an internet version of his NBC talk show, one where bigwigs swing by to show off their latest projects as part of their publicity tours, only instead of new movies and albums, it's cars or the occasional motorcycle.
Such is the exactly case with Volvo's stonking S60 Polestar Concept, which makes its appearance in Jay's warehouse of wonders this week. Tuned by in-house skunkworks Polestar, the "Swedish Racing Blue" S60 has certainly been making the rounds as of late, with recent appearances near Leno's garage at the LA Auto Show and an Auto Motor und Sport track faceoff against the BMW M3 and Audi RS4 Avant.
Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that Volvo is so keen to get its showcar in front of the cameras - last we heard, executives were seriously considering a small production run for their unlikely 508-horsepower, all-wheel drive sport sedan, though we continue to hear that realistic pricing is likely to be a roadblock.

Last Volvo XC90 rolls off assembly line in Gothenburg

It was back in 1998 when Volvo set about developing its first SUV. The brief was to build a seven-seater that wasn't "too large", and several design proposals were considered. Three and a half years later Volvo revealed the XC90 at the 2002 Detroit Auto Show and the rest, as they say, is history.
Volvo initially had an eye towards selling 50,000 units per year. It achieved that and then some, selling around 85,000 examples per year between 2004 and 2007. Now, after 12 years and 636,143 examples made - still over that initial target on average despite its lingering age that see it selling just 11,000 units these past few years - the last Volvo XC90 rolled off the assembly line in Gothenburg.
That final example is heading straight to the Volvo Museum adjacent to the factory. But it won't, strictly speaking, be the last XC90. It is the last of that model to be built in Sweden, but a new model is on its way. And the current model will continue to be built in Daqing, China, to be sold locally as the Volvo XC Classic. So if you want to get your hands on a seven-seat Volvo crossover, you'll have to move there. Otherwise you can wait until the end of January 2015 for the new model to begin production.

Sweden's Prince Carl Philip to race for Volvo in STCC

Prince Carl Philip Bernadotte has it good. He is a member of the Swedish Royal Family, he dates a model and he has been voted by Forbes as one of the "20 Hottest Young Royals." If that were not enough, he is a fairly successful racecar driver. The latter has earned him a spot on the Volvo Polestar racing team for the Swedish Touring Car Championship. The prince will be piloting a race-spec S60 in the 2013 STCC campaign.
Starting in 2008, Prince Carl Philip began competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup, where he placed as high as 11th. In 2010, he finished first in the Porsche GT3 Endurance competition, and most recently, he placed fourth in the 2012 Swedish GT GTB.
As his motorsport career up to this point suggests, the prince is quite serious about racing and the STCC is the next step up. According to Prince Carl Philip, "There is no tougher championship in Sweden and at the same time as I have respect for it, it motivates me greatly." You can read more on Prince Carl Philip's upcoming campaign with Polestar in the press release below.