Driven: 2023 Polestar 2 BST Edition 270 Is Limited-Edition Awesomeness

• BST Edition 270 is a new limited-edition model of the Polestar 2
• Has hardware changes and a unique exterior look
• Only 270 will be built worldwide; priced at $75,500

What the heck is a BST Edition 270?

Believe us, you are not the only one with that question, so let’s start there. According to Christian Samson, product attributes lead for Polestar, the name honors a fast version of the Polestar 2 that ran up the hill at Goodwood in 2021. That car was known internally as “the Beast,” and here in production form, B-S-T is a wink to that nickname. As for 270, it’s not some special number in the world of Polestar — nope, 270 just happened to be about the right production capacity for a car like this.

Not exactly a name dripping in nostalgia, but, hey, this is Polestar we’re talking about, not Ferrari. This car will end up being rarer than some Ferraris, however. At 270 units, it's an extremely limited production run for a car that is otherwise mass-produced. That’s roughly half of the Bugatti Chirons that will exist in the world.

And the production process itself for the BST is surprisingly fun. The car will start life as a Polestar 2 dual-motor Performance pack. After assembly there, it heads to the old Polestar 1 factory where Samson’s team of fun-loving gearheads gets to work. They start by lowering the ride height by 1 inch (25 mm) and adding a front strut brace connecting the shock towers. The manually adjustable Öhlins dampers remain effectively unchanged. From there, the team adds 21-inch forged aluminum wheels and stickier Pirelli tires, both of which were custom-made for the BST. Bigger four-piston calipers and cross-drilled rotors finish off the hardware tweaks.

Visually, the BST 270 sets itself apart with paint-matched trim pieces in place of the usual black body cladding. There is also an optional black stripe with a “2” dropped right on the hood. As a whole, the BST looks menacing.

How does it drive?

Intermittent storms during the launch event for the BST rained on our parade and kept the roads slicker than we would’ve liked. Polestar's event managers reminded us on more than one occasion that our car was allocated to a customer, which roughly translates to “please don’t hurt it and make our lives harder.”

Even in the wet and with a mental caution flag waving, the BST was full of personality. An inch lower to the ground doesn’t seem that dramatic, but the lower center of gravity was evident almost immediately. The car was happy to change direction, and quickly, too. For a machine weighing more than 4,500 pounds, it disguised its mass to a very impressive degree, offering more precision than a standard Polestar 2. We were constantly brushing with grip limitations thanks again to the rain, but in the dry, there is no doubt that they had substantially more to offer.

Polestar uses a blended braking system, so you’re getting a mix of physical brake pad and regen when using the left pedal. Some other EVs (like the Mercedes EQS) do a poor job of making this feel natural, but the BST was spot-on. Full one-pedal driving is available, but we spent our time leaning on the upgraded calipers only to find that they provide ample stopping power.

With 476 horsepower on tap, you’d think the powertrain would be a highlight, but it played a distant second fiddle to the suspension and brakes. Line up the BST next to a Model 3 Performance on a straightaway and it would be hard to see the advantage; on a sweeping mountain road, the Polestar is a much more enjoyable product.

Only around town does the BST lose some of its sparkle, and that’s due to the Öhlins dampers — the same ones that come with any Performance package-equipped car. They make the car ride harshly over bumps and road imperfections, especially at low speeds. In fairness, they are adjustable to a softer setting, but at the level Polestar recommends for everyday use, we weren’t thrilled. When the road smoothed out, however, this issue subsided.

Are there any downsides?

You could make the argument that Polestar should’ve done more to make this car unique — especially in the interior. There are no differences between the standard 2’s cabin and the BST’s. There's not even a badge or a commemorative plaque. Even small touches like that go a long way in making the car feel more special.

But the obvious downside is that as you read this, the car isn’t available for sale. That is unless you are one of the lucky few that secured an order. We have the feeling that Polestar could’ve built and sold more of them. Instead of being enjoyed by the masses, the BST 270 will go down as an example of what Polestar is capable of when it comes to performance.

Samson assured us that the company is not done building this type of specialized car. And when they eventually revisit it — likely with the Polestar 5 or 6 — hopefully more will be produced.

Edmunds says

It’s a shame that Polestar isn’t building more examples of the BST Edition 270. This is a true driver-focused car that is more enjoyable in the corners than it is in a straight line — that can’t be said of most EVs these days. We’ll look back one day at this frankly weird car as an interesting chapter of the company’s history.