2009 Volvo C70 T5 Convertible 2-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Man convicted of spying on truck maker Scania for the Russians

STOCKHOLM — A Swedish court on Wednesday sentenced a 47-year-old man to three years in prison for spying for Russia, which involved selling secret information from truck maker Scania. The court said it had found the man guilty of acquiring and selling the secret information from the truck maker to a Russian embassy official. The court acquitted the man of similar espionage charges at Geely-owned carmaker Volvo Cars. "To be convicted of espionage, it is required that Sweden's security can be damaged if the information benefits foreign powers," the court said in a statement. "The district court has ruled that this is the case with regard to the information that the man obtained from Scania, while it has not been proven that this is the case with regard to the information from Volvo." The court statement said the man regularly received cash at his meetings with the Russian embassy official, which it considered was compensation for the information provided. The man, who has denied wrongdoing, was apprehended whilst meeting the diplomat in a restaurant, having just received 27,800 Swedish krona ($3,242). He worked as a consultant for Volvo Cars in 2016 and 2017 and for Scania in 2018 and 2019, until he was arrested. The man's lawyer said he would appeal. Scania is owned by truck maker Traton. Government/Legal Volvo Scania

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?

Volvo P1800 restomod by Cyan Racing is coming to the U.S.

Cyan's Racing's heavily modded Volvo P1800 will soon be making its North American debut, and it'll be available to purchase in America. Based on the sleek 1961-72 coupe that just might be the sexiest car Volvo ever made, it's been transformed by the wizards at the race engineering firm previously known as Polestar into a 420-horse tire-shredder. We've waxed on about the Cyan P1800 before, admiring its lighter-than-a-Miata curb weight thanks to carbon fiber body panels, while marveling at its beautifully minimalist turbo 2.0-liter Volvo four. The driving experience is meant to be truly analog, from the manual gearbox to the lack of ABS and traction control. The entire suspension was redesigned and even its profile isn't quite identical to the original P1800 — the greenhouse, for example, has been repositioned. Best of all, its metamorphosis from antique to hot rod was performed not by some fly-by-night operation, but by an actual race shop, the one that turned the Volvo 850 into a Super Touring race car. The Polestar firm was so successful, Volvo actually bought them out, subsequently turning the brand into its performance EV subsidiary. Cyan Racing says the only things that remain from the original P1800 is the steel frame, hood release, handbrake, and windshield wipers. Everything else, including the glass, was manufactured uniquely for this car.  A year ago, Cyan said that the entry price for this unique combination of classic design and race-inspired performance was $500,000. When it becomes available stateside, however, the starting price will be, according to Cyan, "around $700,000". With that eye-watering price, customers get to personalize each P1800 to their liking. Cyan says the car was engineered so that it could be "tailored into anything from a lightweight, high-performance cafe racer to a grand tourer." The Cyan Volvo P1800 will make its North American debut at The Quail during Monterey Car Week.