Volvo Axes Performance Brand

Not many people even know Volvo offers them. They wear an R and have a bit more under their skin than just safety equipment. They’re Volvo’s performance cars, including models like the 2007 S60 R and V70 R. But it seems those two are the last of the breed: Volvo has said it will no longer offer high-performance variants of its models after the 2007 model year.

That means if you’re interested in the 300-hp S60 R or V70 R, you’d better start searching inventories. Both cost around $40,000 and hit 60 mph in 5.4 and 5.6 seconds, respectively, but Volvo feels they don’t speak well enough to the brand identity — safer is better — to warrant keeping them around. Besides, the company couldn’t warrant their cost, either.

Buyers will have to be satisfied with more sedate sport offerings, like the T5 trim level on most models. The recent addition of V-8 engines to the S80 and XC90 might also satiate go-fast Volvo fans. We don’t see the move as a real loss to the brand; Volvo’s time would be better spent adding a little more driving fun to every model.

[Sticking with Safety, AutoWeek]