Volvo's New 650hp V8 Race Cars Demand Your Respect

Engineers from Polestar and Volvo have been working together to create a V8 engine that will power the team's V8 Supercars Championship entry in 2014.

The S60s will run a modified version of the Yamaha-derived 4.4-litre engine that powered the XC90 and S80, however its performance pedigree comes from the fact it was used to power the 200mph+ Noble M600. The Australian racing version has been bored out to 5.0 litres, which runs to a heady 7500rpm redline.

Official power figures haven't been announced, however regulations mean it'll have to go without forced induction to achieve an output of about 650 horsepower. That's quite a jump from the standard unit's 311bhp, and on a par with the Noble's twin-turbocharged headline figure.