Polestar: the engine is “made up” with a software update

The challenge to those who propose the most digital car in the world is tight. And the innovation bar has now been raised by another notch by Polestar which, for the first time, on the “2” proposes a very substantial increase in power – 68 more horsepower – through the overhaul management software update. the air. A slightly expensive optional – it’s 1190 dollars, or 17.5 per horsepower – but which is capable of radically transforming the car.

Yes, because in its standard configuration, the twin engine 2 delivers 408 horsepower, while with the new upgrade the power increases to 476 hp. So acceleration becomes brutal: from 0 to 160 km/h the car sprints in 4.2 seconds, but it is in the intermediate passages that the car flies: the 2 takes up from 80 to 120 km/h in 2.2 seconds, i.e. half a second in less of the 2 standards.

And to see the difference in performance, customers can use the “Performance” section of their app to time the various acceleration and recovery times of the various models. The software also includes a G-force meter, included in the optional Performance Pack.

We talked about dollars because the system is available exclusively for North America: there the competition with his majesty Tesla is tight.

It must also be said that the cost for the performance update is one-off: it is not a subscription (as other brands do) but a permanent modification: it is linked to the car’s chassis number, so as to be transferred to subsequent owners . Allowing drivers to pay to unlock additional features and more horsepower is becoming more and more common in the automotive industry. In some markets, Mercedes, Tesla, BMW and Audi, offer an increase in acceleration for some models but it is always an annual subscription, not a permanent change in the way the car works.

And Polestars make fanatics too: they allow customers to show off their increase in power. When you order the performance software upgrade, you also receive new stickers with updated car power data for the door and another distinctive sticker for the front grille (fitting instructions are included…) . The times are back when enthusiasts stuck the words “turbo” on the tail of the cars.