Polestar Gives Its Range A Rally-Inspired Makeover

Ha! You thought after last week’s efforts from Audi and Genesis that we were done with fairly normal electric crossovers getting winter-ready makeovers? Not even close. Now Volvo’s sporty EV offshoot Polestar has gotten in on the act, giving all three of its current models what it calls the ‘Arctic Circle’ treatment.

One of these, based on the Polestar 2, has already been floating around for a few years, but it’s got a new livery and a few extra bits so it matches the treatment received by Polestar’s newer models, the 3 and 4.

Each car has been kitted out with a set of three-way adjustable remote reservoir Öhlins dampers, raising the ride height by 30mm on the 2, 40mm on the 3, and 20mm on the 4. They also each get a set of very cool OZ Rally Racing wheels wrapped in studded Pirelli rubber for ice driving, or a winter compound for the road.

LED driving lights, mudflaps and tow hooks finished in ‘Swedish Gold’, plus ski racks for the 2 and 4, top off the exterior changes, while all three get a pair of Recaro Pole Position bucket seats up front.

In terms of powertrain, all three are built from the long-range, dual-motor Performance Pack versions of their respective base cars. In the 2, that means 469bhp and 502lb ft of torque; in the 3, it’s 510bhp and a very healthy 671lb ft; and in the 4, 536bhp and 506lb ft. The 4 also gets a rally-style hydraulic handbrake. Yes please.

All this rally-ready goodness wouldn’t be much use without some professional input, which is why the Arctic Circle cars have been developed in part by Polestar’s head of driving dynamics, Joakim Rydholm, who also happens to be a multiple-time podium-sitter in the Swedish rallying scene.

Sadly, like the Audi and the Genesis we saw last week, we doubt you’re going to be able to put any of these slidey Swedes on your driveway any time soon. You will be able to see them – probably very sideways – at the FAT Ice Race in the Austrian Alps on 1 February, though.