The Polestar 4, a coupe-like SUV, has the best driving position and the most supportive seats.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
When Polestar separated from Volvo in 2017, they made sure to keep their racing heritage intact, transferring everything they knew about performance and making cars fun to drive, over to a completely new line of electric vehicles.
Joakim Rydholm, head of chassis engineering, has been with the company since the beginning, but it was an easy transition as he previously worked for Polestar when it was still under its parent company. He’s also a professional rally driver and has been tuning cars for more than 30 years, getting his start with Saab after university.
Work at Polestar started with what Rydholm describes as his dream project: the Polestar 1. The 1 was a plug-in hybrid with a gas engine under the hood and twin electric motors powering the rear axle. It was also an “iconic car,” according to Rydholm, one that was never intended for mass production.
“We created a halo car with a clear target of being a driver’s car,” he says at a media event held recently in Sweden. “It explained what Polestar stands for: fun to drive, control in all situations.”
Polestar shows off the fun side of electric cars in the Arctic Circle
Only 1,500 of the exotic carbon bodied grand tourer were produced starting in 2019. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful designs to come out of the automotive world and it set the tone for the brand.
“[The Polestar 1] was a clear statement of where we belong,” says Rydholm. “Where on the sky should we put the star?”
“It was our first car with Ohlins dampers, huge Akebono brakes and big 21-inch tires specially made for this car. It had a turbo, supercharger, battery pack, carbon fibre and a beautiful design,” says Rydholm. “When we were out testing, people stopped me in the streets. It made them happy and, if you bought a Polestar 1, you were the only one who had it on your street.”
The minimalist interior of a Polestar.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
Rydholm says his years of experience on Swedish rally stages, which he still competes in driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, gives him a better understanding of how to tune a car’s suspension and chassis to get the best out of it.
“Everything starts with the steering,” he says. “Your hands are very sensitive things and if the steering is not in place, you don’t get the confidence that you need.” The brakes are also very important, says Rydholm, explaining that the pedal shouldn’t feel mushy or vague and the dampers should “breathe” with the car when driving over bumpy undulating roads.
Much of what was learned developing the Polestar 1 was transferred over to the company’s second car, the Polestar 2, a more mainstream compact five-door sedan. Priced at just over $52,050 in Canada with a range of more than 500 kilometres, the 2 is the brand’s entry-level vehicle and volume seller but, according to Rydholm, it features the same crispy steering, tuning and character.
The Arctic Circle cars, based on the production Polestar 2, 3 and 4. They add ladders, skis and boxes on the roof and the quad spotlights mounted to the bumper.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
Rydholm was also adamant that the 2 get a set of exotic Ohlins dampers that come with the optional performance pack. He says there was pushback from the company because they’re not cheap.
Ohlins makes some of the best shock absorbers in the world and they’re used extensively in racing including Formula 1, Indy Car and multimillion-dollar hypercars such as the Koenigsegg Jesko.
“Ohlins are about 10 times more expensive than normal dampers, but it’s high quality, and it stands for something,” says Rydholm. He says they’re easy to tune and have a lot of range and what Polestar does goes hand in hand with Ohlins.
“If we should be a true performance brand, we cannot come with cheap shock absorbers. Even if we tuned them to perfection, it doesn’t work. [Ohlins] are a bit of a shortcut because [the company] has done all the work, and we jump on the train,” he says. Polestar installs more Ohlins dampers in their cars, than any other automaker.
The Polestar 4 does away with a rear window, instead using a roof-mounted rear-view camera.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
The company has similar relationships with Brembo brakes and tire manufacturers such as Michelin, with whom they work closely to fine tune all the hardware that ends up on its vehicles. Rydholm stresses the importance of tires too.
The ultimate expression of Polestar comes with the special one-off Arctic Circle cars, based on the production Polestar 2, 3 and 4. They’ve been modified with custom Ohlins three-way dampers, increased ride height, OZ rally racing wheels and tires with 300 four-millimetres studs specially designed for ice track driving. Even cooler are the ladders, skis and boxes on the roof and the quad spotlights mounted to the bumper.
The Arctic Circle cars are a passion project, says Rydholm. They are one-offs not intended for production. They are a showcase of Polestar’s racing DNA, but with a distinct Scandinavian flavour. We get a chance to see these creations at an ice track that Polestar has carved into a frozen lake near Jokkmokk, a small town in Swedish Lapland.
As a special treat, Rydholm drives us around the track in one of the Arctic cars at night under the northern lights. The bright spotlights pierce through the inky black night, illuminating the track ahead. He doesn’t hold back for our sake, kissing each snow-covered apex completely sideways at triple-digit speeds, barely ever straightening the wheel. Rydholm says that out on this ice track, he’s in his office. Every Polestar benefits from the work he does there.
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
Shopping for a new car? Check out the new Globe Drive Build and Price Tool to see the latest discounts, rebates and rates on new cars, trucks and SUVs. Click here to get your price.