OREANDA-NEWS. The Volvo V60 Polestar becomes the world’s safest safety car in a new long-term agreement with the FIA World Touring Car Championship, starting in the season-opening WTCC Race of France at Circuit Paul Ricard on April 1-3rd. 

The Volvo V60 Polestar Safety Car, specifically modified with mandatory safety equipment, and its crew, which consists of a driver and observer, will lead the WTCC field ahead of the races and will also follow the pack on the opening lap. 

“It was an easy decision to start a cooperation with the WTCC on the Official Safety Car. This allows us to close the circle from track to road by showcasing customers the take-home alternative of our racing car technology in the form of the Volvo V60 Polestar Safety Car, at the same time being part of the vital and extensive safety work of the championship,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.

The Volvo V60 Polestar Safety Car is equipped with a roll cage, rescue and communication equipment in order to meet the rigorous technical and safety requirements set by the FIA and WTCC promoter Eurosport Events. 

“Last October we welcomed Polestar’s long-term commitment to the WTCC as a manufacturer. Now we welcome Polestar as the new Official Safety Car partner of the WTCC, an exclusive opportunity which will allow them to promote their extremely safe and high-performing V60 Polestar flagship model around the world,” said Fran?ois Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events. 

Developed from 20 years of motorsport experience, the Volvo V60 Polestar, awarded a five-star safety rating by Euro NCAP, has been extensively engineered to deliver an engaging, precise and confident driving experience in all weathers with input from factory Polestar Cyan Racing drivers Thed Bj?rk, Robert Dahlgren and Fredrik Ekblom. 

Polestar, the performance brand of Volvo Cars, enters the FIA World Touring Car Championship this season with Cyan Racing, the motorsport partner to Polestar, in a multi-year programme with two newly developed Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 race cars, based on the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar road cars. 

The WTCC season consists of 12 race weekends on four continents across the world with manufacturers such as Citro?n and Honda, in the fight for the prestigious World Title of touring car racing.

Volvo Car Group in 2015

For the 2015 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating profit of 6,620 MSEK (2,128 MSEK in 2014). Revenue over the period amounted to 164,043 MSEK (137,590 MSEK). For the full year 2015, global sales reached a record 503,127 cars, an increase of 8 per cent versus 2014. The record sales and operating profit cleared the way for Volvo Car Group to continue investing in its global transformation plan.

 About Volvo Car Group

Volvo has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 503,127 in 2015 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding. 

As of December 2015, Volvo Cars had almost 29,000 employees worldwide. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Sk?vde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofstroem (Sweden).