Experimental Polestar 2: Volvo’s Polestar takes tweaked ‘2’ to Goodwood Hillclimb

The Experimental Polestar 2, a Polestar 2 fettled for the Goodwood Hillclimb, heads for the Festival of Speed with more power and improved handling.

Polestar may be a ‘Volvo’ car business, but it’s a step aside from the corporate constraints of Volvo, and that leaves it with the freedom to play. 

That freedom to play has resulted in this, the uninspiringly-named ‘Experimental Polestar 2’, with the wick turned up on the motors and upgrades to the underpinnings to create an EV up for the challenge of Goodwood’s Hillclimb.

The starting point for the Experimental is a boost in output from its electric motors – now delivering 469bhp – with a wider track (and wider wheel arches), lower ride height, bigger wheels and 6-piston Akebono front brakes borrowed from the Polestar 1.

Stiffer springs have been fitted – by 80 per cent at the front and 40 per cent at the rear – and the Ohlins DFV dampers have been upgraded to Ohlins three-way performance dampers, with a carbon fibre front suspension strut bar from the Volvo S60 Polestar Engineered and a custom rear strut bar.

In addition to the tweaked oily bits, Polestar has also given the Experimental 2 new front and rear bumpers, Snow White paint job, Magnesium Matte racing stripe, gloss and matte black alloys and colour-coded accents for the bumpers and side skirts.

Joakim Rydholm, Polestar’s chief chassis engineer, said:

This car is what happens when we are given freedom to go beyond our limits. We already have such great handling and performance characteristics in Polestar 2, but when Thomas asked me to make something special for Goodwood, I was really excited to up the stakes.

The new chassis set-up for Goodwood has really taken it to the next level. I can’t wait to go up the hill!

Does this Experimental 2 preview a new Polestar 2 Performance model? Probably not, but it would be nice if it did.