[Straz85]

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=117377

Street cred. Volvo wants it. And it wants it with the 2007 C30.

Any doubts about Volvo's relevance to the tuner crowd vaporized when we came across the Evolve C30. Strictly a one-off, it is a 2007 Volvo C30 that has received a thorough makeover by Evolve, a Southern California-based Volvo aftermarket tuner. It's mean and wild, and yet still manages to maintain a strong visual connection to the already great-looking Volvo C30.

Check out the widebody look. We're suckers for fender flares, and with a full 6 inches added to the width of the rear fenders and colossal 355/25/19 Pirellis in back, it looks simply badass. Our conversation with the Evolve gang confirmed that these are indeed the widest tires on the market today, bar none. Since Evolve converted this front-wheel-drive C30 to all-wheel drive, those meats are actually functional, too.

Insane turbo system? Double-check. Sequential twin-turbos churn up an eye-popping 507 horsepower and 468 pound-feet of torque from the 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine. Eschewing traditional intercooler installations, the intake manifold integrates a charge-air cooler based on an additional air-conditioning evaporator.

Nothing has gone untouched. A fully adjustable pushrod-actuated suspension takes residence in the rear, and the hubs have been converted from five-lug to center-lock style. The nose has been extended, and an adjustable splitter has been grafted on. Inside, billet gussets triangulate the chromoly roll cage. Looking for all the world like a latter-day Renault R5 Turbo 2, the Evolve C30 has perforations next to the taillights which now house the exhaust tips.

The looniest aspect, though, has to be the Evolve-devised brakes. The front rotors are 15.2 inches in diameter clamped by 14-piston calipers, and out back are six-piston calipers and 14.3-inch rotors. They look as if they could slow a runaway mining truck.