Polestar 5 goes sub-zero
The public got its first glimpse of Polestar 5 on track last weekend. Only this was no ordinary circuit. And this was no ordinary Polestar 5. We look back at a standout weekend at FAT Ice Race, on a day when Polestar was arguably the coolest show in town.
If you find yourself in this corner of the Austrian Alps at the end of January, you’re there for one reason: FAT International Ice Race. The event is for people who love cars. And people-watching. And everything in between.
For those new to Zell am See, there are a few things worth knowing before you arrive. Bring something special. A car, perhaps, but only if it’s worthy of the setting. Bring someone special too. The mountains attract plenty of glamour, but only a select few truly belong trackside. And finally, be ready to drift. Not just any drifting, though. At the town’s frozen airfield, there is only one surface that matters: ice.
650 kW Grand Tourer
Polestar 5 has been a long time coming. You’ve seen its journey from concept to car. You’ve seen it unveiled. You’ve even had the chance to experience it up close in VIP walkarounds. But until now, you hadn’t seen it driving publicly on a track, in front of an audience.
All that changed last week.
By bringing two all-electric Polestar 5 prototypes to FAT Ice Race, Polestar offered a glimpse into the future of performance and car culture. In a setting dominated by 20th-century technology, its 650 kW of modern engineering cut through a world built on combustion.
For the occasion, Polestar wanted to do something a little different. But what do you give an all-electric GT that already has everything? A Gran Turismo livery.
One of the cars wore the distinctive black-and-yellow Gran Turismo colours, continuing Polestar’s ongoing partnership with the iconic gaming franchise. The result turned heads both on and off the ice. “Polestar has always been a design-led brand, and the livery they created is extremely refined,” says Kazunori Yamauchi, “Kaz”, CEO of Polyphony Digital and creator of Gran Turismo. “As expected, they really delivered.”
There are forms of driving pleasure and an overall smoothness that can only be achieved with EVs.
Automotive icon
“I’ve wanted to come here for a long time, and this is my first time attending,” says Kaz as he walks the ice track. “Polestar and Gran Turismo are both very sophisticated brands, so it feels natural that they’re coming closer together.”
Earlier in the day, Polestar’s special guest was treated to a lap of the circuit alongside one of Sweden’s most accomplished racing drivers, Ted Björk. Despite the extreme conditions and unforgiving surface, the verdict was emphatic. “I thought the car looked really cool. It felt very stable. I immediately thought it was a really good car. It goes exactly where the driver intends.”
As the founder of one of the most influential automotive games ever made, Kaz has spent decades immersed in car culture. Few people are better placed to reflect on how it’s changing and where it’s heading next. So what does he make of the shift to electric? “The EV era has only just begun. There are forms of driving pleasure and an overall smoothness that can only be achieved with EVs. Because of that, I think a new kind of car culture will emerge.”
And perhaps more than anyone trackside that weekend, he would know what the future holds.
But for now, there is something simpler. Feint. Apex. Drift.
