Volvo and Polestar release new S60 TTA touring cars

Volvo and Polestar release new S60 TTA touring cars - Volvo may not be the first name you'd think of in racing, but it stands as a dominant force in European touring cars. Before stepping up to the World Touring Car Championship last year, Volvo and its partner Polestar Racing had come to dominate the Swedish Touring Car Championship. While that series has since expanded to all of Scandinavia, Volvo made other plans in switching over to the TTA Racing Elite League. And this is the car with which it will be contesting the new series.

Rather than field the same C30 touring car which Volvo and Polestar had fielded in the STCC and WTCC, the TTA racer revealed here is based (or at least looks like) the S60 sedan. Under that carbon fiber body sits a 420-horsepower V6 driving the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox and boosted by a similar KERS regenerative braking system as employed in Formula One.

The livery has yet to be finalized, so for now Polestar has decked the S60 TTA out in the same shade of baby blue that makes its other touring cars, that 450-horsepower all-wheel-drive C30 prototype and for that matter the Alonso-era Renault F1 cars so perplexingly devious. Click the image above to view in high resolution and follow the jump for the full press release.

News Source: TTA

Mercedes and Ducati highlight partnership with pair of matching vehicles

Mercedes and Ducati highlight partnership with pair of matching vehicles

Mercedes-Benz and Ducati joined forces a little over a year ago, and the two brands have chosen the Bologna Motor Show to mark the anniversary. The companies are showing off an SLK 55 AMG and a Streetfighter 848, respectively. Both machines are painted in eye-melting Streetfighter Yellow, and Mercedes-Benz says that AMG may permanently add the color to the personal option list if there's enough demand. The SLK 55 AMG also wears custom yellow contrasting stitching on interior pieces like the sport steering wheel, seats, and dashboard, and a set of yellow-illuminated door sill plates further reinforces the theme.

Neither the SLK 55 AMG nor the Streetfighter 848 boast any performance modifications, which is just fine, since both vehicles offer plenty of giddyup right out of the box. The Benz is the most powerful SLK manufactured to date, with 422 horsepower from a naturally-aspirated 5.5-liter V8. The Streetfighter 848, meanwhile, is a 132-horsepower machine that weighs less than 500 pounds. Hit the jump to check out the full press release.

News Source: Mercedes-Benz