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Volvo S80 nip/tuck spotted in China

An early look at the new face of the Volvo S80 has made its way to the web. The Chinese site Auto Sina spotted a revised version of the country's S80L out in public and in plain view. Not too long ago, Doug Speck, the global head of marketing and sales for Volvo, said designers were working on a mild facelift for the S60 and S80, and while it is possible the Swedish manufacturer will roll out a different front fascia for the US market, the move seems unlikely.
The S80L seen here boats a tweaked grille and a Passat-inspired lower valance. New wheels and side-view mirrors also appear to be part of the update, as does a modified rear bumper and exhaust outlets. Volvo is set to debut the facelifed S80 next year, and while the manufacturer hasn't delivered an exact time frame, good money is on the vehicle showing up at the Detroit Auto Show in January or the Geneva Motor Show in March. Stay tuned for more information.

This is Volvo's awesome S60 V8 Supercar entry [w/video]

Australian auto news has been dire for the last several months with all three automakers that build there announcing they would stop production within the next three years. But Volvo is providing a shot of excitement with the unveiling of its new S60 racecar for the upcoming season of the Australian V8 Supercar series.
The Volvo S60 racecar will use a 5.0-liter, naturally aspirated V8 based on Volvo's B8444S production engine that will be tuned to produce roughly 650 horsepower on E85 ethanol. Power will get to the ground via a six-speed sequential transmission, and it will be able to reach 62 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 185. All cars in the series use common parts for the chassis, transaxle, and rear suspension.
Volvo's Polestar performance arm will campaign two of the S60 racers this season. While Volvo might seem like an odd inclusion into Australian racing, it actually has quite a successful history. It won the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship in a 240 and won the Bathhurst 1000 race in 1998 in an S40. Polestar is not new to racing either, having been racing Volvos around the world since 1996.

Volvo readying stretched next-gen S80 in lieu of 7 Series rival?

The debate about what direction to take perennially struggling Volvo has been raging for years. Should the Swedish marque go upscale and try to chase other European luxury brands, or should it stick to its safety-minded knitting? Should it adopt flashy new styling and a more overt performance bent, or keep it Scandinavian clean and responsible? Chinese parent brand Geely apparently has designs on making Volvo a full-fledged BMW rival - particularly in its homeland - including pushing for a range-topping 7 Series competitor. However, Volvo execs have been repeatedly pushing back on the idea. In fact, it's understood that this philosophical crisis contributed mightily to the high-profile departure of Stefan Jacoby, the company's CEO until the middle of 2012 (Jacoby has since rebounded to head international operations for General Motors).
There doesn't seem like any middle path in this debate, but that apparently isn't going to stop Volvo from trying. According to a sprawling Reuters report, Volvo will placate Geely chairman Li Shufu with a stretched and lux'd up version of the next S80. Yet Li still isn't completely satisfied, and he's said to be pushing for "a plusher and bigger model he calls the S100" to rival cars like the Audi A8. For the moment, it is not clear if the larger S80-based model will be a global offering, or just another one of China's many home-market, long-wheelbase specials.
The question of future Volvo styling is up for debate as well. According to Reuters, "Insiders say Li is a big fan of the new styling that design chief Thomas Ingenlath has brought to Volvo" (The latest example, the Concept Coupe from this week's Frankfurt Motor Show, is shown above.) Yet there are those who worry whether the company's new styling strategy is showy enough to appeal to China's wealthy. Chairman Li would still like to see a range-topping sedan for "show-off people," but Volvo's management doesn't want to go down that road. Clearly, this won't be the last we hear about the company's existential boardroom battles.