The Polestar 2 is an incredibly fun car to drive, especially in its dual-motor configuration. With 408 hp and 487 lb-ft of torque on tap instantly, you get quick acceleration to go with nimble handling and it appears Polestar has more surprises up its sleeve. The experimental Polestar 2 shown at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed seems to indicate that Volvo’s younger sibling is about to turn up the wick on its compact offering.
In addition to significant suspension upgrades, the experimental Polestar 2 got a nice power bump. Its dual-motor setup now makes 476 hp combined, an increase of 68 hp over the production car. We suspect that this was achieved by employing the more powerful electric motor found in the recently announced FWD variant of the Polestar 2. Its single electric motor makes 231 hp. While two of those still falls short of the experimental car’s total output, there’s a possibility that Polestar’s engineers tweaked it even more to get the most out of them.
What does this indicate? Our best guess is that Polestar is about to give the 2 more power in its dual-motor variant and make that the sportier version now that a longer-range single-motor version is about to enter the market. However, that doesn’t mean you’re going to sacrifice much in terms of long-distance capabilities because it appears Polestar has made meaningful changes to the dual-motor version. Word around is that the dual-motor version’s range was quietly increased via an over-the-air (OTA) update. That was likely done to offset another imminent improvement to the car aimed at making it more capable.
The experimental Polestar 2 could be our first glimpse at the more powerful flavor. Additionally, it may also be a hint that the brand’s next vehicle, the Polestar 3 crossover, will take advantage of the newer batteries to offer more power without sacrificing driving range or efficiency. We suspect that a more powerful Polestar 2 will be the most logical thing to expect first since the 3 isn’t expected to debut until next year. This could also be the first of many salvos of OTA tweaks aimed at improving the existing vehicles since Polestar promised that it will continuously upgrade their vehicles.
As for those suspension bits taken from the Polestar 1, don’t expect those to come anytime soon. Wide tires will cut the 2’s range and those special dampers will likely cost a pretty penny. If anything, expect stiffer springs, a retuned suspension, and the same tire sizes to complement the additional power, not a massive change like what’s found on the experimental car.
Polestar could also be ready to introduce a more efficient battery or make improvements on the current one. That could also allow for a power increase without affecting the 2’s overall range. Despite being a convergence platform, there’s also no reason why the CMA architecture underpinning the Polestar 2 couldn’t accommodate a new, more efficient battery or receive an update to increase the current unit’s efficiency. With everything being so focused on software, the possibility of a car getting something over the air to make it perform better is high. Volvo and Polestar can do exactly that, especially with the new operating system that will be on the Polestar 3 and future Volvo models.
