Here come the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar

Last year, we drove Volvo's 501bhp S60 Polestar prototype. We liked it very much because, well, it was a sensible Volvo saloon with 501bhp. But at the time, Volvo said only 10 S60 Polestars would ever be built - each costing a six-figure sum - and that was that.

Good news! Volvo has today announced it will put the S60 and V60 Polestar into wider production across the world, including the UK.

Not quite so good news! The not-quite-so-limited-edition S60 and V60 won't have 501bhp, but instead 345bhp from the same turbocharged 3.0-litre V6. Which is rather less power, but still quite a lot of power for a sensible Volvo saloon/estate.

Running a recalibrated version of Volvo's Haldex four-wheel drive system and a six-speed paddle-shift auto, the S60 and V60 will get from 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds, past 124mph less than 13 seconds later and hit the limiter at 155mph.

371mm front discs and six-piston Brembo calipers tucked beneath those 20-inch wheels take care of stopping duties, while a neat new front splitter and subtle rear wing add a hint of downforce.

Polestar - the company that once ran Volvo's Swedish touring car team but has now moved on board as the firm's official ‘M Division', as it were - has also fettled the S60's cabin, though sadly it won't be quite so Alcantara-heavy as the cockpit of the deranged 400bhp C30 Polestar Jeremy drove a couple of years ago.

No word on prices yet, but don't worry: the production S60 and V60 shall be a lot cheaper than the 501bhp version. We'd expect somewhere between £40,000-£45,000 for the S60 saloon, with a premium of a grand or so for the estate. Which plunges the Volvo straight into the lair of the similarly four-wheel-drive, V6, only-slightly-less-powerful Audi S4. Would you take this or the German?