One-off Experimental Polestar 2 created for FOS | GRR
Electric performance brand Polestar is back taking on the Goodwood Hill this weekend – but with a model you can’t buy… not yet anyway. The car is an experimental go-faster version of the Polestar 2 fastback and has been developed especially for the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard.
“We want to flex our muscles and explore opportunities,” Polestar chief executive Thomas Ingenlath tells us. “I challenged the design and engineering teams to play with Polestar 2 and come up with something that makes a strong statement for Goodwood.” Ingenlath adds the car is based on his daily driver in Gothenburg, a one-off prototype nicknamed the Beast.
Beast MkII for Goodwood has all the ingredients of a performance makeover, headlined by a power boost: the dual electric motors now deliver 476PS (350kW), 74PS (50kW) more than the Polestar 2 you can buy – which already gets from 0-62mph in under five seconds.
As well as more power the special Polestar 2 gets a lower and wider body, wider tracks, upgraded suspension and brakes, bigger wheels and flared guards. Much of the upgrade is based on components already proven in Polestar 1, the car which began the Volvo sister company’s journey with its world first dynamic debut here at Goodwood three years ago.
The driver then, Polestar’s chief chassis engineer Joakim Rydholm, will again be the pilot of what promises to be the world’s fastest Polestar 2, so he should know his way up the Hill.
“This car is what happens when we are given freedom to go beyond our limits,” says Joakim Rydholm. “When Thomas asked me to make something special for Goodwood, I was really excited to up the stakes.”
Making cars go faster is nothing new to Polestar. Features of the experimental model like Öhlins dampers, six-piston Akebono brakes, 21-inch wheels shod with Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres, carbon-fibre suspension struts and stiffer springs – a hefty 80 per cent stiffer than the standard car’s – are grist to the mill for a company whose roots lie in motor racing.
“Polestar 2 is already a wonderfully dynamic car and the new chassis set-up for Goodwood has really taken it to the next level,” says Joakim Rydholm.
Main image by Nick Dungan.