Volvo Car South Africa used the Festival of Motoring to show off The Beast, a very special XC60.
Beast and Volvo are two words I never expected to use together in the same sentence, but it seems that has to change because Volvo Car South Africa had a trick up their sleeves which they revealed at the recent 2022 Festival of Motoring, The Beast 2.0!
The Beast 2.0 is a unique, highly customised version of the Volvo XC60 T8 R-Design AWD, equipped with loads of carefully selected modifications. These modifications range from more aggressive styling to specialised performance tuning. In stock specification, this plug-in hybrid is already the most powerful XC60 ever, with both ICE and electrical systems pushing as high 340kW and 907Nm.
In order to improve the XC60s already impressive character, Volvo Cars South Africa called upon the expertise of the companys in-house performance division, Polestar, to recalibrate the engine electronics, while Volvo tuning specialist, Heico Sportiv supplied the stainless steel sports exhaust with active flap control for added performance and a beastly growl.
The second part of The Beast 2.0s transformation involved giving it the aggressive look needed to live up to the its name. To achieve this, the team behind the build drew inspiration from the R-Design trim level that includes a dark finish on the grille, side-mirror caps and various other trim pieces. They then added black 21 diamond cut alloy wheels and a high gloss black wrap. All that black is broken by the yellow detailing, which includes the exterior badging and the XC60 branded brake calipers. To finish off the car’s daring look, an aerodynamic roof box was fitted, complete with matching yellow Volvo graphics.
On the inside, The Beast 2.0 is a little more sedate as the interior does not sport any real modifications like the exterior. What has been changed though are the seatbelts, which were replaced with special yellow Polestar equivalents. Other than that, you will still find the OEM four-zone climate control, a Bowers & Wilkins sound system, head-up display, 360-degree camera system, and massage function front seats.
Now, you may be wondering why this XC60 has been labelled The Beast 2.0? That is because three years ago, at the first Festival of Motoring, Volvo Car South Africa launched The Beast, a modified version of their XC90.
That brings us to the final and most important question, will The Beast 2.0 be on offer from your local Volvo dealership? Well, this XC60 is merely a showpiece for Volvo to raise excitement around the brand’s hybrid and electric future. BUT, if your wallet is big enough, Volvo Cars South Africa may be able to build one just for you.
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