THE Volvo S60 Polestar Concept last week debuted at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. Built by Volvo’s official performance firm partner, Polestar, the car is being touted as “arguably the most glamorous and lightning-quick Volvo concept car ever made.”

Volvo said the S60 Polestar Concept delivers its trademark driving experience with a high level of power and handling. The car has a turbo-charged, inline-six engine that has been tuned to output 508 horsepower and 576 Newton-meter of torque—a significant improvement from Volvo’s stock T6 engine’s ratings of 300 horsepower and 440 Newton-meter.

“This is Polestar’s interpretation of the Volvo S60,” says Christian Dahl, founder and chief executive of Polestar, about the car. “It was developed with our own preferences in mind, although we know they are also shared by active drivers.”

The combination of a lowered, widened and reinforced chassis, a tuned Haldex all-wheel drive system, and Ohlins suspension makes the car uniquely suitable for both high-performance driving and long-distance traveling, according to Volvo.

“We approached this project by looking at the production Volvo S60 as a platform for a potential race car. And the culmination of that data went into the design of the S60 Polestar Concept,” said Jan Andersson, chief engineer at Polestar.

Polestar has been Volvo’s performance partner since 1996, offering tuning technology and parts enhancement to production vehicles. A Polestar-tuned S60 R-Design and XC60 R-Design are presently offered in the Volvo lineup. The company’s performance upgrades can be purchased and installed in most new and used Volvos.