In April 2009, I predicted the Volvo S60 in the Speed GT series was essentially a waste of time. For the 2009 season they did okay, but Brandon Davis won the driver’s championship with his heavily modified (even for racing) Ford Mustang FR500C. Porsche took home the manufacturer’s championship. Now for the 2010 season the Volvo won the drivers’ (Randy Pobst) and manufacturers’ championships.
I must give credit and congratulations to the Volvo S60, Randy Pobst, Andy Pilgrim, K-Pax Racing, 3R Racing/Auto for chassis development, Mahle for the engines and Weismann for the transmissions. A team effort that resulted in wins over the proven masters of road racing. Top drivers Randy and Andy could not have done it without excellent equipment and vice versa.
These all-wheel drive cars really did a great job this past season. I wonder if AWD will be banned for the GT class after this success or will the S60 be back? A ruling like that is not unheard of although I think Porsche’s 911 GT3 Hybrid race car may have earned an exemption at some point. So what now for Geely owned Volvo? Have you noticed the new commercials for the 300hp S60? It’s “naughty” with 300hp and 325ft lbs torque. http://www.volvocars.com/us/all-cars/volvo-s60/Pages/default.aspx It’s the same performance envelope from 7 years ago when Car & Driver tested a past generation: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/03q3/volvo_s60r_awd-road_test
Volvo should get more aggressive and use the Speed GT title in their ads. I also think Volvo should offer an “R” version making 350hp or even 400hp to capitalize on the win. Currently 300hp, AWD and 3800lbs is great for a daily driver, and “naughty “ is probably appropriate, but it’s time to spice it up. How about “Bad Boy” or “Champion Edition” or Porsche eater? Viper killer? Corvette slayer? Pretty comical, I know. Kudos to Volvo and the rest that were directly involved, now capitalize on it. BBQ’d crow on the grill isn’t so bad.
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Readers: Be sure to check out the Tuner Grand Prix at Laguna Seca on October 22nd-24th. The K-Pax 3R Volvo S-60R is in the unlimited class. My prediction is with no weight or boost restrictions, it just may take the overall win in this event too. http://www.globaltunergp.com/index.php
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