What is Polestar Engineered?
If you’ve ever seen a Polestar Engineered vehicle, you’ve probably noticed the badge – a subtle yet powerful emblem signifying that this is no ordinary car. That badge represents a commitment to enhancing performance and delivering an unparalleled driving experience through precision engineering. Born from Polestar’s roots in motorsport, Polestar Engineered is the culmination of years of research, testing, and passion, translating track performance into everyday driving.
Polestar’s journey into high-performance engineering started long before we became known as a standalone electric vehicle brand. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2009 to fully understand the company’s performance heritage. This was a time of stopwatches and pitlanes, when Polestar was deeply rooted in motorsport, developing race cars and performance optimisations for Volvo. This tradition of motorsport excellence instilled in us a pursuit of precision, agility, and control – values that continue to shape our vehicles today. Over time, the expertise Polestar honed on the racetrack naturally began to spill over into its commercial offerings.
The first Polestar Engineered products emerged as part of Volvo’s lineup, with the introduction of models like the S60 and V60 Polestar in 2014. These cars were more than just enhanced versions of their standard counterparts. They were carefully engineered to deliver an elevated driving experience, integrating Brembo brakes, Öhlins dampers, and other performance-oriented upgrades, which we still see in Polestar models today.
This combination of upgrades transformed the handling, braking, and responsiveness of the cars, making them tighter, faster, and safer. It was an early glimpse of Polestar’s future – a future rooted in making high-performance vehicles accessible to a broader audience.
The transition to electric performance
The decision to evolve into an electric car brand didn’t dilute our commitment to performance. If anything, it intensified it. While the shift to electric mobility might seem to negate the need for traditional performance metrics like horsepower Polestar’s engineers knew that the driving experience was about much more than raw power.
This is where the essence of Polestar Engineered comes in. The focus moved beyond increasing horsepower, to improving the overall feel and drivability of the vehicle. It’s about creating a car that responds intuitively to the driver, whether that’s through adjusting the pedal mapping, optimising the gearbox, or enhancing the four-wheel drive system. The goal? To make every drive feel predictable, smooth, and enjoyable, no matter the conditions.
Even as the electric transition took shape, the engineering team at Polestar remained dedicated to refining every detail of the car. The Performance version of Polestar 2, for example, comes with software upgrades that boost performance by enhancing pedal response and power distribution, as well as Brembo brakes and Öhlin dampers in Swedish gold that has become a symbol for Polestar’s performance engineering.
From track to road
The idea of taking lessons learned from motorsport and applying them to production vehicles is at the core of Polestar Engineered. In the world of racing, every millisecond counts. It’s not just about having the most powerful engine (even though it’s part of it), but it’s also about fine-tuning every component to work in perfect harmony. This attention to detail is what allows race cars to corner more effectively, brake later, and accelerate sooner. And it’s this same philosophy that guides Polestar Engineered vehicles.
The team responsible for creating these cars focuses on optimising everything from shock absorbers to tyres to braking systems, ensuring that the car performs consistently and predictably across all conditions. The combination of these elements leads to a more balanced, predictable, and engaging driving experience – allowing the driver to enjoy the car's capabilities with full confidence.
For Polestar’s lineup, this is where Polestar Head of Chassis Development Joakim Rydholm comes into the picture. His process is highly iterative and hands-on. He personally drives every car, testing it on a variety of roads and in different conditions to understand its nuances. Even the smallest tweak to the front dampers necessitates a corresponding change to the rear dampers, and this back-and-forth adjustment continues until the car behaves exactly as intended.
Engineering beyond automotive
Polestar’s engineering expertise doesn’t stop with cars. A great example of how our dedication to precision and performance extends into other realms is the Allebike Elize Polestar Engineered. In partnership with Swedish bike manufacturer Allebike, Polestar has taken its signature engineering philosophy and applied it to something completely different – a mountain bike.
Allebike Elize Polestar Engineered, a full-suspension mountain bike designed together from scratch, combining Allebike’s craftsmanship with Polestar’s attention to detail and expertise in materials and aerodynamics.
With this partnership, we’ve extended the Polestar Engineered ethos beyond the road and into the trails, proving that the pursuit of performance and precision knows no boundaries.
The Polestar Engineered badge is a symbol of this relentless pursuit of performance. But more than just a symbol, it’s a promise. When a car bears the Polestar Engineered badge, it signifies that it has been upgraded to offer something unique. The badge isn’t just a cosmetic detail – it’s the mark of enhanced performance, something that sets it apart from the standard model.
