Car Enthusiast - click here to access the home page


 


Polestar mixes business with pleasure in experimental model. Image by Polestar.

Polestar mixes business with pleasure in experimental model
Polestar has created an experimental version of its Polestar 2 that shows what can be done when you let the engineers get their own way
<< earlier article     later article >>

 


News homepage

What's all this about?

It's a Polestar 2 but not as you know it. It's what happens when the company's CEO, Thomas Ingenlath tells the design and engineering team that he wants a car that will create a stir at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Always happy to oblige the boss, they got to work and the result is the Polestar 2 Experimental and its chief chassis engineer, Joakim Rydholm took us for a run around the Goodwood Circuit to see what they'd achieved.

What have they done?

On the face of it, it looks like they've colour-coded the grille, added a racing stripe and fitted bigger wheels, which they have at 21-inch, but it's underneath the skin that things get really interesting. Firstly, those wheels sit at each end of a 10mm wider track front and rear. Secondly, power is hiked from 406hp to 476hp, mainly through a software change. It has six-piston brake callipers from the Polestar 1 GT car and there are carbon fibre braces front and back.

It has three way adjustable damping but again that's only part of the story. The Polestar 2 already has 22 positions that can be manual changed by an owner by climbing under the car and tweaking the dampers. Out of the factory, the settings are 8:8 front and back, but for the UK market those are changed to be slightly more comfortable at 11:11. For the Experimental car, the damper cylinders look the same, but inside the components have been changed to provide 40 per cent more compression. In addition the suspension is 80 per cent stiffer up front and 40 per cent firmer at the rear. In case you're wondering Rydholm is a national class rally champion in Sweden and when someone says make changes to the set-up, he's like a kid in a candy store.

What did all this mean on track?

Not surprisingly, Rydholm kept control of driving when it came to being on the track. The last thing anyone needs with a one-off is some journo getting things wrong. Granted, he had never driven on the famous Goodwood Circuit before, but he knows his car and he knows what it and for that matter he, can do. By the time we turned into Madgwick, turn one, it was already clear that it was a case of man and machine in harmony. That 70hp makes a massive difference and we had to scrub off much more speed than in the regular model as those six-pistons all clamped down in the braking zone. The only real body roll was the lateral g-forces moving me sideways in the seat as he pushed through the corner, settling quickly into a rhythm. Rydholm is very proud of just how playful the car is, something he insists is present in the standard model too. It responded confidently to steering inputs even mid-corner which we think he was doing just for fun, in fact we're sure he was. We couldn't see the grin on his face as he said "feel how well it goes through the chicane" because he was wearing a face mask, but we know it was definitely there. That about sums up the Polestar 2 Experimental - it's an internal project car that everyone had fun creating so they could have fun on track. It also shows just what they can do.

What's next for Polestar?

There is a rumour that the company might be looking at a performance line-up, similar to Audi RS, BMW M, Mercedes-AMG and the Polestar Engineering enhancements for Volvo models. That doesn't mean the experimental Polestar 2 will become reality of course, but maybe it's a toe in the water thing. What we do know though is that the Polestar 3 SUV is coming along and the Precept which we had a good look at at Goodwood gives more clues to future models than many originally thought. It's also going to form the basis for a model on its own and shows some clever new technology especially when it comes to materials. Things are getting very interesting at Polestar.



Mark Smyth - 8 Jul 2021


2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.

2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.2021 Polestar 2 Experimental. Image by Polestar.









    - Polestar road tests
- Polestar news
- 2 images






Land Rover teases new flagship Defender Octa. Image by Land Rover.
Land Rover Defender Octa teaser
The forthcoming, high-performance, top-of-the-range Defender takes its name from the shape of a diamond, apparently.
 
Volkswagen unveils hot ID.3 GTX models. Image by Volkswagen.
VW ID.3 GTX reveal
High-performance electric hatchback will be offered in ‘standard’ and Performance guises.
VW adds go-faster GTX model to ID.7 range. Image by Volkswagen.
VW ID.7 GTX reveal
The hot ID.7 GTX gets 340hp and all-wheel drive, and it’ll be offered in saloon and estate body styles.

 
 215 Racing
 9ff
 A. Kahn Design
 Abarth
 Abt
 AC Cars
 AC Schnitzer
 Acura
 Aehra
 AIM
 Alfa Romeo
 Alpina
 Alpine
 Amari
 APS Sportec
 Arash
 Arden
 Ares
 Ariel
 Arrinera
 Artega
 Ascari
 Aston Martin
 Atalanta
 Atomik
 Audi
 Austin
 Auto Union
 Autodelta
 Autofarm
 Autosport
 AVA
 Avatar
 Axon
 Aznom
 BAC
 BAIC
 Bentley
 Bertone
 Bizzarrini
 Bloodhound
 Bluebird
 BMW
 Bosch
 Bowler
 Brabham
 Brabus
 Breckland
 Bridgestone
 Brilliance
 Bristol
 Bugatti
 Buick
 Burton
 BYD
 Cadillac
 Callaway
 Callum
 Caparo
 Capstone
 Carlsson
 Caterham
 CCG
 Chang'an
 Changfeng
 Chevrolet
 Chevron
 Chongfeng
 Chrysler
 Citroen
 Climax
 Connaught
 Cooper Tires
 Corvette
 Cummins
 Cupra
 Dacia
 Daewoo
 Daihatsu
 Daimler
 Dartz
 Datsun
 David Brown
 David Brown Automotive
 DDR
 De Tomaso
 Delta
 Detroit Electric
 Devon
 Dodge
 Donkervoort
 Drayson
 DS
 Eagle
 Eagle E-type
 EDAG
 edo competition
 Eterniti
 Everrati
 Evisol
 Exagon
 FAB Design

 
 Factory Five
 Faralli & Mazzanti
 Fenix
 Fenomenon
 Ferrari
 Fiat
 Fisker
 Ford
 G-Power
 Geely
 Gemballa
 General Motors
 Genesis
 Ginetta
 Giugiaro
 Glickenhaus
 GMC
 Goodwood
 Google
 Gordon Murray
 Gordon Murray Automotive
 Gordon Murray Design
 Gray Design
 Great Wall
 GTA
 GTM
 Gumpert
 Hamann
 Hartge
 HBH
 Heffner Performance
 Hennessey
 HERE
 HiPhi
 Holden
 Honda
 Hulme
 Hummer
 Hyundai
 I.D.E.A
 Icona
 IFR
 Infiniti
 Ionity
 Isis
 JAC
 Jaguar
 Jeep
 Jensen
 Jetstream
 JJAD
 Joss Developments
 Kahn
 Kamala
 Keating
 Kia
 Koenigsegg
 KTM
 Kumho
 Lada
 Lagonda
 Lamborghini
 Lancia
 Land Rover
 Lexus
 Liberty
 Lightning
 Lincoln
 Lister
 Loma Performance
 Lorinser
 Lotus
 LupiniPower
 Luxgen
 Mahindra
 Mansory
 Maserati
 Mastretta
 Maybach
 Mazda
 McLaren
 Mercedes
 Mercedes-AMG
 Mercedes-Benz
 Mercedes-Maybach
 Mercury
 Metrocab
 MG
 Michelin
 MINI
 Mitsubishi
 MMI
 Monte Carlo
 Mopar
 Morgan
 Mosler
 MTM
 Munro
 NAC MG
 Nichols Cars
 Nissan
 NLV

 
 Noble
 Novitec
 Opel
 Overfinch
 Pagani
 Perodua
 Peugeot
 Piaggio
 Pininfarina
 Polestar
 Pontiac
 Porsche
 Praga
 Preview
 Prodrive
 Project Runningblade
 Project Velocity
 Proton
 Protoscar
 Qoros
 Radical
 Range Rover
 Red Bull
 Renault
 Reva
 Rimac
 Rinspeed
 RoadRazer
 Rolls-Royce
 Ronn Motor Company
 Rover
 RUF
 Saab
 SAIC
 Saleen
 Saturn
 Scagliarini
 SCG
 Scion
 SDR Sportscars
 SEAT
 Sin
 Singer
 Skoda
 Smart
 Soleil
 Spada
 speedArt
 Sportec
 Spyker
 SRT
 Ssangyong
 SSC
 Startech
 STaSIS
 Subaru
 Suzuki
 Suzusho
 TAD
 Tamiya
 Tata
 Techart
 Tesla
 The Little Car Company
 THINK
 Thunder Power
 Tojeiro
 Tommy Kaira
 TomTom
 Toray
 Toyota
 Trabant
 TranStar
 Trident
 Tushek
 TVR
 UKCOTY
 Vanda Electrics
 Vauxhall
 Velozzi
 Vencer
 Venturi
 Veritas
 Vizualtech
 VL Automotive
 Volkswagen
 Volvo
 VUHL
 WCA
 WCotY
 Webasto
 Westfield
 Wiesmann
 Xenatec
 Yamaha
 Zagato
 Zarooq
 Zeekr
 Zenos
 Zenvo



 
 






External links:   | Irish Car Market News |

Internal links:   | Home | Privacy | Contact us | Archives | Old motor show reports | Follow Car Enthusiast on Twitter | Copyright 1999-2024 ©