Mention Volvo and the first thing that comes up to anybody’s mind will be safety. It’s synonymous really and I’ll bet you that nine people out of ten would not know that Volvo actually goes racing. Volvo has been actively participating in the Swedish Touring Car Championship for the last couple of season and they actually won the first two championships of the series in 96 and 97.
Returning to the series last year with an E85 ethanol powered C30 campaigned by Polestar Racing AB, Volvo are yet to reclaim the national title though it has won a couple of races against petrol powered competitors like Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Opel.
The well respected Swedish marque has now decided to take its racing up a level and will be racing in the World Touring Car Championship with the C30 when the series visits Brands Hatch in the UK. Though Volvo’s entry will be strictly for exhibition purposes only and will not be eligible for points, it will be interesting to see how an alternative fuel powered race car fares against conventionally powered race cars, it could set the stage for a switch to alternative fuel sources for race machines if performance is indifferent and significant environmental gains are made.
