Using its all-electric five-door fastback as a jumping off point, Polestar has produced a vehicle carefully engineered for excellence in the Arctic Circle. The rally-inspired car features a few special tweaks for high performance in the far north, with the Swedish automaker using the one-off across its winter testing program to drill into the fine details around EV performance.
The vehicle is based on the Polestar 2 fully electric sedan, with the company's engineers taking the long range, dual motor version and bumping up the ride height by 30 mm (1.1 in) and dialing the power and torque to 350 kW and 680 Nm – up from 300 kW and 660 Nm on the standard version.
Custom 19-inch winter tires with 4-mm metal studs give extra grip across the snow and ice. The springs have been softened by 30 percent, meanwhile, and the suspension has been designed and tuned accordingly. Strut braces fitted to the front and back boost the torsional rigidity and responsiveness, while a snow shovel and recovery strap are affixed to the rear just in case things run off course.
“Tuning a chassis on snow and ice allows us to develop our cars in what feels like slow motion and with better accuracy,” says Joakim Rydholm. Polestar’s chief chassis engineer,. “With such low levels of grip, we can feel and analyze the dynamics at a much slower pace than on tarmac, which means we can really fine-tune the way our cars behave, down to the smallest details. This is my absolute favorite place to develop cars.”
On the aesthetic side of things, the Polestar 2 ‘Arctic Circle’ features a set of four LEDs at the front along with a skid plate under the front bumper. Inside, the Recaro bucket seats are finished in charcoal with gold branding, while the whole thing is coated in a special edition matter grey and white livery. Polestar notes the car is a one-off and isn't headed for production, but says this is the first time winter rally inspiration has been used to inform its vehicle development.
“I wanted to have more fun than usual with this car – really being able to push it in terms of performance and handling in a winter environment like a frozen lake," says Rydholm. "The balance and predictability we have achieved with the raised ride height and specialised tyres are particularly noticeable when you enter a bend completely sideways, with a bigger-than-usual smile on your face, and in total control."
See the one-off Polestar 2 ‘Arctic Circle’ in action in the video below.
Source: Polestar