Polestar 2 BST 270 Edition | Spotted
Who knows what the future holds for the enthusiast? Here's hoping it's a little something like this...
The future of the performance car looks a little murky heading into the electric age. Up till now, all carmakers had to do was inject a little more power, remove a bit of weight, firm up the suspension a touch and bam! A ready-made, if basic, formula for a new souped-up variant. But when family hatchbacks like the MG 4 XPower pack 435hp and can smoke the sort of supercars you had pinned on your bedroom wall as a kid, it seems like power alone won’t be enough to get EV buyers hyped up over a sporty model.
Perhaps, then, the future of the performance EV will look a little something like this: the Polestar 2 BST 270 Edition. Rather than go after a ridiculous power output and call it a day, Polestar instead focused on turning its 2.1-tonne saloon into a proper driver’s car. That didn’t include putting the Model 3 rival on a diet, sadly, but the company did overhaul the 2’s chassis by asking its main suppliers to come up with a bespoke set of exotic components. These included bespoke, adjustable Ohlins dampers, firmer springs, the addition of a strut brace and Pirelli rubber unique to the BST. Quite the parts list, that.
Then there were the visual upgrades. The Polestar 2 has always been a smart-looking thing, though the plastic cladding around the wheel arches doesn’t do it any favours. They were body-coloured on the BST, thank goodness, drastically sharpening up the design and shrugging off the high-sided image it never really warranted. The saloon also featured the same 21-inch forged wheel as the achingly cool and extremely rare Polestar 1, while a large central stripe with a large number ‘2’ (stop giggling) cut out in the middle of the bonnet. Safe to say the BST fit its billing.
It went like it, too. Although crazy horsepower figures weren’t the goal with the BST, it did come with a fair bit more grunt than the Polestar 2. Well, at the time at least. Over the air updates means Performance Pack models now develop the same 476hp output as the BST, but at the time the sports saloon had a near-70hp advantage over the standard model. Range did take a dip, mind, falling from 367 miles on the Long Range model to 287 miles, and it was only 0.1 seconds faster to 62mph, too. We’ll let you decide if that’s a sacrifice worth making, but all the gold bits and a seriously geeky upgrade list do make its slight shortcomings a little easier to overlook.
Interestingly, Polestar didn’t go into the BST project with the intent of putting it into production. The car was built as a proof of concept and shown off at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where a strong reception from buyers and fans cajoled Polestar into launching a production version. Only 270 examples of the initial 270 Edition were green-lit, 40 of which were earmarked for the UK and sold in the blink of an eye. Good news for the future of the performance car in the electric age, less good news if you wanted to sample said future for yourself.
Now, thankfully, you can, as a secondhand 270 Edition is now for sale on PH. Given that it only launched a year ago, this 2023 example is about as box fresh as you can get, with the gold callipers and dampers still glistening as if they were new. It’s covered just 3,000 miles and still looks to be wearing its original Pirellis, meaning it's ready to (quite literally) plug-in and play. These were nearly £70k when new, but the seller’s asking for £58,995 for this lightly-used example. A decent saving, if still quite a bit more expensive than a Dual Motor Performance like this 2022 car at £38,895. All the chassis tweaks and upgrades should make that little more special to drive, however. And iIsn’t that what sets a proper enthusiast car apart from the rest?
SPECIFICATION | POLESTAR 2 BST 270 EDITION
Engine: 400V Lithium-ion battery, 78kWh capacity, twin AC synchronous electric motors
Transmission: single-speed, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 476
Torque (lb ft): 502
MPG: N/A
CO2: 0g/km
Year registered: 2023
Recorded mileage: 3,000
Price new: £68,990
Yours for: £58,995
Would like a spin in the bst edition and see if the fancy components make a lot of difference as the handling in mine can be a bit non existent when pushing on.
Advertised price shocked me - would be looking at a taycan if I was going for a personal second hand purchase.
...I know the BST project was all about trying to get 2+ tons to handle better, but still, the point remains.
From the outside the build quality, design and attention to detail are excellent. The shut lines are tiny to the point of almost disappearing, the bonnet shape and interface to the front 3/4 panels is superb. Not easily manufactured either.
Beside a Tesla it looks to be decades ahead or rather the Tesla looks to be from the 90's. Amazed anyone buys them.
Personally I like the stripe. It is bold and sticks a couple of fingers up at those wanting a traditional racing stripe. Though perhaps in another colour would be better.
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