Johannesburg: Sporty exhaust notes and an eye-catching black with yellow inlays is not something you would as a rule associate with Swedish carmaker Volvo.
Known more for its sensible approach to cars and excellent safety features, they've thrown the proverbial cat among the pigeons with the launch of The Beast 2.0 at the Festival of Motoring at Kyalami recently.
At the last event before Covid-19, the company debuted The Beast, which was the most extreme XC90, but now it has stuck to its “electrification” programme, customising the XC60 plug-in hybrid with a not-so-subtle exterior, some interior changes and a few powertrain upgrades.
Based on the Volvo XC60 T8 R-Design AWD, the T8 plug-in hybrid was the most powerful XC60, with total outputs of 340kW and 709Nm.
Now it has added the Polestar Engineered package, resulting in faster engine response, quicker gear shifts, improved cornering and better traction on pull-away.
The throaty engine growl comes courtesy of a sport exhaust system, by Volvo specialists Heico Sportiv, that’s made from stainless steel with an active flap control and frees up more power.
You get two sounds when driving – a lovely sporty one when you push the loud pedal and virtual silence when using the rear electric motor in Pure mode.
The exterior draws inspiration from the R-Design specification with a high-gloss black wrap and slim yellow detailing and rides on 21-inch five-spoke diamond-cut alloy wheels. Behind the rims, yellow XC60 branded brake callipers wink at you. It it even has a aerodynamically efficient roof box with yellow Volvo branding.
The interior gets special Polestar yellow seatbelts and, as you would expect, is fully specced with items such as four-zone climate control, a Bowers & Wilkins sound system, a head-up display, a 360-degree camera system, a massage function up front, Volvo’s active chassis with air suspension and as many as four separate equipment packages (power seats, lighting, lounge and driver assist packs).
“The plug-in hybrid version of our XC60 is the perfect vehicle for South African buyers keen to sample an electric car while still having petrol as a back-up plan. With this particular example, we hope to alter some local perceptions around electrified vehicles and furthermore prove that being safe needn’t be boring. We think The Beast 2.0 does exactly that,” said Shannon Gahagan, of Volvo Car South Africa marketing.
The Beast 2.0 is a one-of-one design study intended to show what could be possible through customisation.