Polestar has had a lot of fun exploring the performance potential of the Polestar 2 electric sedan. Last summer, the company tuned a 2 with major suspension upgrades and extra power. It even announced that the power upgrade would be available to customers a few months later. The latest performance concept moves off the curb to bring EV fun in the snow.
It’s called Polestar 2’s Arctic Circle, and it borrows a lot from the Goodwood prototype. It started out as a Polestar 2 with the factory performance package. That normally includes Brembo four-piston calipers, adjustable Ohlins shocks and 20-inch wheels with summer tires, but only the brakes are left out of the package. Replacing the Performance Pack Ohlins shocks are even more impressive triple-adjustable units like the Goodwood prototype had, set to a softer setting than a Polestar 2 Performance Pack would normally be set to. Unique springs are also fitted that are 30% softer than road models, and the entire car has a 1.18-inch higher ride height.
The wheels and rubber are also different. They are 19-inch OZ Racing wheels with studded snow tires. The Arctic Circle concept also gets a power boost, increased to 469 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque, the same numbers in the upcoming over-the-air upgrade. Polestar added other exterior upgrades to the car with a special matte gray and white color scheme, a quartet of Stedi LED off-road lights and a carbon fiber skid plate on the front. Inside, the Arctic Circle features Recaro front seats, a recovery belt and a very nice carbon fiber snow shovel.
Polestar explicitly said it has no plans to put the Arctic Circle into production. Still, we wonder if any of it might become available in the future. Perhaps Polestar could release a special track variant of the 2 with that trick Ohlins suspension, along with a whole tutorial on how to set it up for different track conditions, from pavement to snow. Maybe some new accessories could become available, like those slick off-road lights. After all, they offer that power upgrade, who knows what else could become a reality.
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