Driving down a long section of no-limit autobahn in the hollowed-out Odin cabin is pretty raw work. (I love sushi.) Between the spooling Borg-Warner and loud exhales from the added wastegate, I honestly felt like I was at the Nrburgring being filmed and recorded. The reduced backpressure downpipe, racing catalyst and twin-outlet exhaust make a sound that is downright un-Swedish. I held the 161-mph top speed for a few spurts. Four inverted KW dampers with coilover Eibach springs and new Eibach towers had just been mounted and I was their impromptu tester. This is a racer that privateers can theoretically order for around $150,000 and if it weren't beating me up a little I would have been bummed.
Fifth gear is the happy place. Shifts at 6000 rpm are creamy and I was spinning the Heico Evolution V wheels and Conti tires through the first three gears. If the money for the research and development arises, Heico may get a sequential gearbox with shifting buttons on the steering wheel.
The 20-inch wheels and 245/35 SportContact2 tires are there now, but 18-inchers make the best street set. Braking is awesome with race-calibrated ABS that allows much later and harder braking in turns, aided by an oil-pressure braking scheme. Front rotors are 12.6-inch high-performance units with four-piston blue Heico calipers.
Since 1995, Heico has used its learning and talent over many seasons of tough touring-car racing to perfect its aero, brake, suspension, exhaust and differential modification packages, as well as the ever-present wheel designs.
On my visit, the guys had just gone testing the full racing version of the HS4 at the nearby Hockenheimring. The immediate plan is to enter it in mid-June's 24-hour race at the Nrburgring, a race Heico has participated in several times already. "At these big races we have a hardcore fan base. Out of about 200 cars, we're the only Volvo," said Mller. "People like the unique sound of our modified T5."
HEICO SPORTIV HS4 ODIN S40
Transverse front engine, front-wheel drive
2.5-liter inline five, dohc, four valves per cylinder, BMC carbon-fiber airbox, Borg-Warner turbocharger, enlarged intercooler, Heico software, exhaust
Coilover Eibach springs, KW dampers
Heico four-piston calipers, 12.6-inch rotors
Continental SportContact2, 245/35-20
Peak Power: 335 bhp @ 6000 rpm
Peak Torque: 368 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm