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Polestar unveils a new collection of ‘Arctic Circle’ EVs that will be shown off at an ice race [Video]
Polestar has unveiled a new collection of one-off “Arctic Circle” EVs designed to showcase the brand’s performance DNA. The rally-inspired upgrades have now been applied to the Polestar 2, 3, and 4 EVs and were put through their paces in the frigid Arctic before they make their public debut at an ice race in Austria. See more in Polestar’s video below.
Although Polestar is technically a Chinese brand since it is majority-owned by Geely Holding, its roots and design are still very Swedish. The premium EV brand is just now starting to gain some clout with consumers as its lineup of available vehicles has expanded to three models: the Polestar 2 sedan, 3 SUV, and 4 crossover.
Aside from several additional models in its pipeline, Polestar has developed several performance variants of its models. Well, actually, up until now, there has been just one model, the Polestar 2. Nevertheless, we’ve seen two high-performance BST Editions as well as a unique “Arctic Circle” Polestar 2 that made its debut in February 2022.
Three years later, Polestar’s lineup has grown by two, and the automaker has returned to the chilly tundra of the Arctic Circle with unique one-off variants designed to kick up some snow and drift across the ice. Today, Polestar shared images and a video of the new Arctic Circle collection before the three unique EVs perform some hot laps on the ice of Austria this weekend.
Polestar shows off its tuning prowess in the Arctic Circle
According to news shared by Polestar this morning, the previously mentioned one-of-a-kind Polestar 2 Arctic Circle is now part of a trio of ice-ready EVs alongside its Polestar 3 and 4 siblings. The new Arctic Circle collection is a design exercise in rally-inspired EVs that showcase Polestar’s performance prowess. Company CEO Michael Lohscheller elaborated:
The Arctic Circle collection illustrates our unique performance DNA, rooted in motorsport and combined with Scandinavian design. We develop our cars under challenging conditions within the Arctic Circle in Sweden, and at the FAT Ice Race we will showcase that on ice there is nothing better than a Polestar. We are really excited to be part of this special event with our full model line-up, where it’s all about car culture and the performance experience.
Following today’s online debut of the new Arctic Circle EVs, Polestar said the three one-off models will make their public debut during the 2025 FAT Ice Race in Zell am See, Austria, on February 1. We asked the Polestar team if the Arctic Circle EVs would be competing, but they unfortunately will not.
However, Polestar told us the Arctic Circle EVs will be out on the ice track for some hot laps in front of the race attendees, operated by professional drivers and Polestar engineers, including Polestar’s Head of Driving Dynamics Joakim Rydholm and multiple STCC and WTCC champion Thed Björk.
The vehicles were built at one of Polestar’s Swedish R&D facilities and feature raised ride heights with custom 3-way adjustable Öhlins dampers, specialized Pirelli studded tires, and OZ racing wheels. The Polestar 2, 3, and 4 Arctic Circle EVs also showcase new Quad Evo front spotlights from Stedi, bucket seats from Recaro, and a slew of exterior winter accessories like skis, roof racks, storage containers, and recovery equipment.
Per Polestar, here’s how each of the Arctic Circle EVs break down in terms of specs and accesories:
| Polestar 2 Arctic Circle | Polestar 3 Arctic Circle | Polestar 4 Arctic Circle |
| MY21 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack and software upgrade 469 hp / 502 lb-ft (350 kW) |
MY24 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack 517 hp / 671 lb-ft (380 kW) |
MY24 Long Range Dual Motor with Performance Pack 544 hp / 506 lb-ft (400 kW) |
| Custom Öhlins 3-way adjustable dampers (2-way compression, 1-way rebound) with external gas reservoirs |
Custom Öhlins 3-way adjustable dampers (2-way compression, 1-way rebound) with external gas reservoirs |
Custom Öhlins 3-way adjustable dampers (2-way compression, 1-way rebound) with external gas reservoirs |
| +1.2-inch ride height | +1.6-inch ride height | +0.8-inch ride height |
| Front and rear strut braces | Front strut brace | Front strut brace |
| Specialized 19” Pirelli Scorpion All-Terrain Plus with 250 4-mm studs (245/45R19) (for ice track driving) |
Specialized 20” Pirelli Scorpion All-Terrain Plus with 300 4-mm studs (295/40R20) for ice track driving |
Specialized 20” Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus with 300 4-mm studs (295/40R20) for ice track driving |
| Pirelli P Zero Winter (245/45R19) (for road driving) |
Pirelli Scorpion Winter 2 (255/50R20 front, 285/45R20 rear) (for road driving) |
Pirelli Scorpion Winter 2 (255/50R20) (for road driving) |
| OZ Racing Rally Racing wheels (19”) |
OZ Racing Rally Legend wheels (20”) (world premiere) |
OZ Racing Rally Legend wheels (20”) (world premiere) |
| Recaro Pole Position bucket seats |
Recaro Pole Position bucket seats |
Recaro Pole Position bucket seats |
| Paddle-operated launch control | Stedi ST4K roof light bar | Drift-inspired hydraulic hand brake |
| Stedi Quad Pro LED front spotlights |
Stedi Quad Pro LED front spotlights |
Stedi Quad Pro LED front spotlights |
| Rally-inspired mud flaps and Swedish gold tow hooks |
Rally-inspired mud flaps and Swedish gold tow hooks |
Rally-inspired mud flaps and Swedish gold tow hooks |
| Thule WingBar Edge roof rails and SnowPack ski mounts |
Thule WingBar Edge roof rails and custom roof basket |
Specialized ski mounts |
| Blackcrows all-terrain skis | Fiskars SnowXpert shovel, Peli 1650EU Protector Case, and snow ladders |
Blackcrows all-terrain skis |
If you happen to be in Zell am See, Austria, this weekend, bundle up and check out some ice races and hot laps from Polestar. If you’d rather stay where you are and remain nice and warm, you can enjoy winter driving footage in the Arctic Circle from Polestar below:
https://plstr.car/arctic-circle-documentary
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James Murdoch, a Tesla board member and friend of CEO Elon Musk, has confirmed that he sold about $13 million in stock today as the stock (TSLA) crashed.
There has been a lot of insider trading at Tesla lately, and by trading, we mean selling – cause no insider is ever buying at Tesla.
We recently reported on Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav recently selling ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.
Tesla’s chairwoman, Robyn Denholm, also sold $33 million worth of Tesla shares last week and over $100 million in the last 3 months.
Now, it’s James Murdoch’s turn. The Tesla board member just confirmed, through a required SEC filing, that he sold 54,776 Tesla shares for just over $13 million today:
He sold as Tesla’s stock crashed 15% today. It is now down more than 50% from its all-time high just a few months ago.
Murdoch was appointed to Tesla’s board in 2017.
He is better known as the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former CEO of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019.
Murdoch was one of the Tesla board directors who was forced to return almost $1 billion in cash and stock options to Tesla as part of a settlement for over-compensation.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla insiders are unloading, and those are just the ones we know about. Public companies only have to report insider trading for board directors and listed top executives.
For the latter, Tesla purposefully only lists 3 people: Elon, Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla’s CFO, and Tom Zhu, whose role at Tesla has bit quite fluid in recent years.
Therefore, we don’t know about the dozens of other top executives potentially selling their shares right now amid a giant correction.
It’s really suspicious because there are clear top leaders at Tesla who are often on Tesla’s earnings calls, and they are not even listed, like Lars Moravy, for example.
But it’s par for the course at Tesla, which has some of the worst corporate governance I have ever seen. It’s truly shameful.
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Environment
Mercedes’ new electric people mover is coming soon: Here’s a sneak peek at the luxe EV van
The next generation of Mercedes-Benz luxury vans is almost here. Mercedes’ first luxury electric van, based on its new VAN.EA platform, is now in Arjeplog, Sweden, for winter testing. The new platform will serve as the base for upcoming VIP private vans, high-end limousines, luxury all-arounders, and much more.
What we know about Mercedes’ new luxury electric van
Mercedes is already a leading van maker, both for business and private use. Starting next year, all electric Mercedes’ vans will launch on its new Van Electric Architecture (VAN.EA).
After unveiling the platform almost two years ago, Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said “VAN.EA clearly underscores our aspiration to ‘Lead in Electric.” He explained that the purpose-built EV architecture supports both mid and large vans.
With a modular design, Mercedes can easily swap out sections to create a different design. The platform consists of three blocks, or modules.
The first block has the electric powertrain while the middle module determines the van’s dimensions. At the rear, the final module can add another electric motor, giving it AWD capabilities.
With 4MATIC AWD, Mercedes claims the new architecture significantly expands driving range and ensures the vans “meet the highest standards regardless of weather conditions.”
Although final specs will be revealed closer to launch, the electric vans will be based on an 800V platform, suggesting relatively fast charging speeds.
The luxury vans will also be loaded with Mercedes’ new operating system (MB.OS), it’s powerful new in-vehicle software that powers all functions like infotainment, autonomous driving, and more.
After the electric van began testing on public roads late last year, Mercedes said it was headed to Sweden for winter testing before its official debut next year.
Mercedes plans to launch several versions for private and business use. The VAN.EA-P is designed for those looking for a mobile office, family activity vehicle, etc., while the VAN.EA-C is for commercial use, such as courier, express, and parcel delivery vehicles. It can even support larger vehicles like campers or RVs.
Mercedes aims for 20% of van sales to be electric by the end of next year. By 2030, the luxury brand wants half of all van sales to be EV.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
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Environment
BlackRock’s Fink says Trump deportations will have severe impact on agriculture, construction
HOUSTON — BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Monday that President Donald Trump‘s deportation policy will have a severe impact on the agriculture and construction sectors, which could lead to elevated inflation in the near term.
“I think that over the next six to nine months, we’re going to see a little more elevated inflation,” Fink said the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference. “I do believe deportations and the speed at which it is happening is going to have severe impacts on the agricultural sector and the construction sector.”
Fink said CEOs in the agriculture sector have told him that about 70% of the men and women who work in the industry were not born in the U.S. This raises the question of whether the U.S. will have enough labor to harvest the crops when spring arrives, Fink said.
“With the whole idea that we’re going to have to use private capital to build out this economy — are we going to have enough workers,” Fink asked. “I’ve even told members of the Trump team that we’re going to run out of electricians as we build out AI data centers — we just don’t have enough,” the CEO said.
This potential labor shortage will contribute to inflation, Fink said. Over the longer term, however, the U.S. could see “big deflation because of the advancement of AI and robots and how that’s going to reshape the economy,” the CEO said.
The deflationary pressure that the U.S. experienced over the past two decades was due in part to the importation of cheaper goods from overseas though this hurt U.S. workers, Fink said. The shift to rising nationalism around the world will have an impact on prices, he said.
“When I go to Washington, they talk about these policies,” Fink said. “I ask at what cost are you willing to tolerate that. “Yes, we may have opportunities to create better and more robust jobs, but then the offside of that will be, it will probably create a little more elevated inflation in the short run.”
Trump’s deportation policy is occurring at the same time the president is imposing tariffs on major U.S. trade partners. The president has slapped 20% tariffs on China. He has paused tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods that are compliant with the deal that governs trade in North America. But Trump is threatening what he calls “reciprocal tariffs” in April.
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