Volvo V8 Supercar ready to get down...under
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It’s not exactly NASCAR, but it’s close.
Volvo and its racing partner Polestar have unveiled the car they’ll be entering in this year’s V8 Supercars series in Australia.
Like the Sprint Cup cars, V8 Supercars feature a spec chassis design fitted with a common transmission that manufacturers customize with their own engines and bodywork that mimics their production cars.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Volvo’s case, that means a beefed-up S60 sedan and powered by a 5.0-liter competition version of the same Yamaha-designed V8 that’s under the hoods of all of the XC90 crossovers out in front of your kid’s school in the morning.
In the racecar, the engine pumps 650 hp to the rear wheels through six-speed transaxle and is good for a 0-60 mph sprint of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of over 180 mph.
An independent rear suspension helps put the power down through turns of both the left and right variety, as the series only runs on road and street courses, no ovals.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But that doesn’t mean there isn’t another NASCAR connection, as Richard Petty Motorsports driver Marcos Ambrose is a two-time V8 Supercars champ and two-time winner in the Sprint Cup series, at the Watkins Glen road course, of course.
We’ll have to wait and see if Volvo follows him across the Pacific.