This one-off Polestar 2 Arctic Circle is a 469bhp modified ice-drift machine

Extreme-weather testing is all part and parcel of working for a major manufacturer, with durability engineers often seen grinding their way around the globe in disguised prototypes covered in dubious ‘camouflage’, everywhere from Death Valley to the Arctic Circle. They spend thousands of hours with calibrated equipment checking what falls off and what goes wrong - not often the most glamorous of jobs. Bluntly, it’s not often that the engineers are given the opportunity to just … go a bit mad.

Which is apparently what’s happened here, with Polestar’s chief chassis engineer Joakim Rydholm let loose on a 2 in order to make his perfect electric winter weapon. And Rydholm - a trophy-winning rally driver on his off days - has pepped up the P2 to his own specific recipe. And it looks tasty.

The first thing you’ll notice is the car’s raised ride-height (by 30mm) and OZ Racing rally wheels, shod in custom-made 4mm studded tyres. There are 30 per cent softer springs with remote reservoirs stuffed under there, paired with three-way Öhlins dampers for that rally-car feel. To keep the car as rigid as possible, there are also a couple of hefty strut braces front and rear, and a carbon skid plate under the front bumper for when you go bouncing off the inevitable snow bank. Although when you think about it, there’s no sump in an EV to crack, so it’s basically just a really posh sledge. Extra lights and a funky wrap complete the picture, and in case the worst happens, at least there’s a carbonfibre snow shovel and recovery strap bolted to the back...

In terms of performance, there’s a motor upgrade to 469bhp (up from the standard 402bhp - something you can now download over-the-air for standard P2 dual motors), plus 501lb ft of torque, plus a new ‘prototype’ launch control system accessed by paddles on the steering wheel, and some custom Recaro bucket seats to make it all feel a bit more racy than the standard car. In the usual Polestar vein, it’s more practical than stupidly theatrical, but looks like lots of fun.

In an effort to sound all responsible, Rydholm says: “Tuning a chassis on snow and ice allows us to develop our cars in what feels like slow motion and with better accuracy, with such low levels of grip, we can feel and analyse the dynamics at a much slower pace than on tarmac, which means we can really fine-tune the way our cars behave, down to the smallest details.”

But then he powerslides completely across the corporate line by going all Top Gear: “I wanted to have more fun than usual with this car – really being able to push it in terms of performance and handling in a winter environment like a frozen lake. The balance and predictability we have achieved with the raised ride height and specialised tyres are particularly noticeable when you enter a bend completely sideways, with a bigger-than-usual smile on your face, and in total control.”

Which sounds to us like a man who very much enjoys his work, and in whose hands Polestar is probably going to do just fine… it’s just going to do it 90-degrees to the direction of travel. Unfortunately for us, the Polestar 2 Arctic Circle is just for Rydholm’s own ‘engineering needs’ and won’t make it to production, though that prototype launch control function doesn’t sound like fantasy...