2007 Xc90 1-owner 4.4l V8 311hp Only 137k 3rd Row Leather on 2040-cars

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Volvo C30 Polestar Concept hits the 'Ring

It's been over three years since the Volvo C30 Polestar Concept was unveiled, driven by journalists and, as it turns out, lapped around the Nürburgring with Scandinavian Touring Car Championship driver Robert Dahlgren behind the wheel. For whatever reason, the video of the 'Ring track session was only published by the tuning company yesterday. (Another discrepancy: Did Polestar's C30 lose 46 horsepower somewhere along the line? Because the video states that it has 405 hp, while the company's website quotes 451 hp...)
Whatever the case, the tuned Volvo is a beast, much more so than the similar-looking, 250-hp 2013 Volvo C30 Polestar Limited Edition that was sold last year. With 451 hp (sounds better than 405 hp, doesn't it?), all-wheel drive, limited-slip differentials front and rear and Öhlins dampers, the Polestar Concept checks all of the right boxes for us.
For some reason, the video, which you can watch below, seems a bit vanilla to us. Perhaps the overly dramatic music takes away from the action and the beautiful sounds of the turbocharged five-cylinder engine?

Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 and our new long-term Acura TLX | Autoblog Podcast #661

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. This week, they talk about the cars they've been driving, including the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 and Audi A4, as well as the recently departed long-term Volvo S60 T8 and the new addition to the long-term fleet, an Acura TLX. In this week's news, they talk about the Stellantis merger completion, some more thoughts about GM at CES, BMW announcing an electric M car, an upcoming electric Lincoln Corsair and the possibility of an electric-only Ford Mustang in 2028. Autoblog Podcast #661 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:2021 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 2021 Audi A4 S Line 45 TFSI Quattro 2020 Volvo S60 T8 2021 Acura TLX A-Spec News:Stellantis is a thing now More thoughts on GM at CES BMW announces electric M car is coming this year Electric Lincoln Corsair-E coming in 2026, report says The next-gen Ford Mustang reportedly going all-electric, arriving in 2028 Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Lotus' new position: Much improved, if Volvo's experience is a guide

Out today is the news that Geely Holding will acquire controlling interest in British sports car maker Lotus Cars. While some 20 years ago the Chinese acquisition of a British automaker might have inspired grumbling from aggrieved Brits (and the handful of Lotus enthusiasts), the world has moved on. And so – thankfully – can Lotus. To suggest Lotus' business history has been checkered is to broaden the definition of "checkered." With its beginnings in the early '50s as a maker of component cars for competition, Lotus founder Colin Chapman – in a manner not unlike his postwar contemporary, Enzo Ferrari – was always hustling, living a hand-to-mouth existence in the production of road cars to support a racing program. Regrettably, Chapman never found a Fiat, as Ferrari did toward the end of the 1960s. Lotus had Ford in its corner for racing and as a resource for powertrains, and later benefited from the corporate support of both GM and Toyota for relatively short periods. Lotus Cars, however, never enjoyed the corporate buy-in that would have allowed Chapman to race and let someone else build the cars. Regardless of what Consumer Reports or Kelley Blue Book might have thought (if they had ...) about those early Lotus cars, a great many are now regarded as classics. My first knowledge of a production Lotus was when Tom McCahill, the 'dean' of automotive journalists in the US, tested an early Elan for Mechanix Illustrated. While we're still not sure, some 50 years later, how McCahill's XXL frame fit into the tiny roadster, he had nothing but praise for the Elan's athletic chassis and now-timeless design. In today's Lotus portfolio, the Elise and Exige continue that light, athletic tradition, while the larger Evora seems to strike wide – literally and figuratively – of the "less is more" ideal. With the Toyota-powered Evora, more is more. But in an eco-sensitive era demanding more of the original Chapman mantra – add lightness – there's little reason that Lotus can't regain relevance if given the financial resources. Geely's acquisition of Volvo, the fruits of which appear regularly not only in the news but on the streets, suggests the Chinese investment will provide strategic vision (along with money) while allowing Lotus talent to do what it does best: Create an exciting product. And while at various periods in its history the product has been worthy, Lotus in the US has been ill-served by a flailing dealer network.