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Polestar has revealed an experimental Polestar 2 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The EV has been given a makeover that was inspired by CEO Thomas Ingenlath’s desire to push the boundaries of the electric performance fastback’s design and performance potential.
“I challenged the design and engineering teams to play with Polestar 2 and come up with something that makes a strong statement for Goodwood,” comments Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. “For a few months I have enjoyed driving another experimental Polestar 2, nicknamed ‘Beast’, around our Gothenburg campus, which inspired the team to come up with this version for Goodwood. We want to flex our muscles and explore opportunities.”
The Long range Dual motor Polestar 2 now produces a combined output of 350 kW (476 hp) from its twin electric motors. The car has been given a stronger stance, with a wider track (+10 mm on each side) and lower ride height (-30 mm). Widened wheel arches have been fitted, required to house the 9×21-inch wheels and 6-piston Akebono front brakes from Polestar 1. The 275/30R21 Pirelli PZero Rosso performance tyres are also carried over from Polestar 1.
The springs have been stiffened by 80% at the front and 40% at the rear compared to the original performance units, and the adjustable Öhlins DFV dampers have been upgraded to Öhlins three-way performance dampers which are approximately 30% stiffer than the road and track originals. To further increase rigidity, the carbon fibre front suspension strut bar from a Volvo S60 Polestar Engineered has been fitted, complemented by a custom-fabricated rear strut bar.
“This car is what happens when we are given freedom to go beyond our limits,” says Joakim Rydholm, Polestar’s chief chassis engineer. “We already have such great handling and performance characteristics in Polestar 2, but when Thomas asked me to make something special for Goodwood, I was really excited to up the stakes.”
In addition to the mechanical upgrades, the car features updated front and rear bumpers. The car is finished in Snow Matte with a Magnesium Matte racing stripe, colour-coded front grid and glossy black mirrors. Bumpers and side skirts feature an additional colour-coded design accent. The wheels feature dual tonality of glossy and matte black surfaces.
Maximilian Missoni, Head of Design at Polestar, comments: “It’s always exciting to push a little bit further. This is one of the benefits of being a start-up like Polestar – we don’t have a mould to fit into so we can experiment with fun projects like this.”
Hillclimb runs will be completed during the event and the experimental Polestar 2 can be found in the First Glance Paddock, adjacent to the Polestar stand. The car will be piloted by Polestar’s lead chassis engineer, Joakim Rydholm, who made his first appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2018 with the debut of the first driving prototype of Polestar 1.
Joakim Rydholm concludes: “Polestar 2 is already a wonderfully dynamic car and we have spent thousands of hours fine-tuning its driving characteristics. The new chassis set-up for Goodwood has really taken it to the next level. I can’t wait to go up the hill!”
Polestar
Polestar is the independent Swedish premium electric performance car brand founded by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding. Established in 2017, Polestar enjoys specific technological and engineering synergies with Volvo Cars and benefits from significant economies of scale as a result. The company is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and its vehicles are available and on the road in thirteen global markets across Europe, North America and China. In 2021, Polestar is expanding into five new markets in the Asia Pacific region.
Polestar produces two electric performance cars. The Polestar 1 is a low-volume electric performance hybrid GT with a carbon fibre body, 609 hp, 1,000 Nm and an electric-only range of 124 km (WLTP) – the longest of any hybrid car in the world. The Polestar 2 electric performance fastback is the company’s first fully electric, high volume car. The Polestar 2 model range includes three variants with a combination of long- and standard range batteries as large as 78 kWh, and dual- and single motor powertrains with as much as 300 kW / 408 hp and 660 Nm.
In the future, the Polestar 3 electric performance SUV will join the portfolio, as well as the Precept – a design study vehicle released in 2020 that is slated for future production. Precept showcases the brand’s future vision in terms of sustainability, digital technology and design. In April 2021, Polestar announced a moonshot goal of creating a truly climate-neutral car by 2030 without carbon offsetting through tree-planting.
