Experimental Polestar 2

The Polestar 2 is one of our favourite EVs of the last couple of years, and the car we believe that outshines the huge talent of the Tesla Model 3. Yet the company won’t be resting on its laurels any time soon if this, admittedly unexcitingly dubbed, Experimental Polestar 2 is anything to go by.

At first, visually, you struggle to see much difference, until you then spot the revised styling at the front grille and lower splitter. Then your eyes are drawn to the 10mm wider wheel arches that appear to hug those menacing 21-inch alloys a little more, which are wrapped salaciously in 275-section Pirelli P-Zero Rosso’s from the Polestar 1. Controlling them are a set of Ohlins dampers, 3-way adjustable, with the suspension stiffness up by 80% at the front, 40% at the rear. A four-layer carbon fibre strut brace competes the under bonnet visualities and the whole car sits a full 30mm lower to the road, emphasising its menace.

And all of this subtle aggression is backed up by an increase in power to 470bhp, a 67bhp jump over the current range-topper. No performance figures have been released, but it’s a fair guess to say it should be significantly quicker than that car’s current 4.7 seconds 0-62mph sprint. Bringing it all under control at the end comes courtesy of a set of six-piston Akebono brakes, again just like the Polestar 1.

This isn’t a new production variant of the Polestar 2, but merely an exercise as to, if they felt like doing one, how a more performance-focussed version might look. The fact it is making a very public debut at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed shows the seriousness of Polestar’s intent. The fact that they have internally nicknamed it “The Beast” may just be another.