Lifting the lid: The story behind Polestar’s racy new look

Nestled deep in the Austrian Alps, the FAT Ice Race played host to some 5,000 car enthusiasts, a cavalcade of priceless race cars, and Polestar’s latest Arctic Circle collection earlier this month.

But those who peeled themselves away from the drifting, ice-flinging action on track would have been welcomed inside Polestar’s Electric Garage—a stylish hangout, complete with an elevated Polestar 5 installation, racing sims, and comfy spots to warm hands over freshly brewed coffee.

“The Polestar Electric Garage was such an amazing space to see in the middle of a frozen airfield, but it actually added an extra challenge when it came to live-painting a race helmet in a day,” explains Keith Wood from HypeX Racewear.

Wait. Live-painting race helmets?

Ah, yes. The Electric Garage also saw Keith and his team hand-crafting the new look for Polestar’s drivers, live in front of an expectant crowd, under strict time constraints and with the occasional gust of Alpine air to contend with. No pressure, then.

“It started with mood boards, where inspiration from the world of motor racing, technology, and aeronautics were mocked up on helmets and race suits,” explains Dan Persson, Polestar's Strategic Creative Director.

“As with everything at Polestar, we started with a white space before adding the essential elements. We took inspiration from the warning text on aircraft and space shuttles, the graphics on crash test dummies and added unique Polestar Engineering elements, such as the Swedish Gold accents,” he adds.

Numerous versions and interpretations passed back and forth, including a design that featured Astro Boy from the world of anime, accompanied by the words “No Conquering Mars”.

“It was a subtle reference to a certain competitor of ours,” Dan says with a mischievous grin.

Even though that particular design didn’t make the final cut the end result is certainly eye-catching: a striking light grey, FIA-approved race suit, the colour chosen as it looked more technical than pure white, complete with gold stripe accent and Polestar Engineered logos on the arms and legs. 

The accompanying helmet, which comes in either white or black, features a wraparound Swedish Gold design on the jaw line, Polestar’s logo in a yellow circle (like a crash test dummy) as a nod to the safety performance of Polestar’s cars and a bold number on the very top, linked to the Polestar 2, Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 Arctic collection of EVs that were being expertly manhandled around the Austrian Alps. 

“The creative process was really cool,” says Keith, the man responsible for bringing Polestar’s design to life. “Going back and forth with Dan and seeing the team’s ideas evolve is not something I typically get to enjoy in the fast-paced world of motorsport. It was refreshing and really unique,” he adds.

Teamwork makes the dream work

Not content with creating one of the boldest and most cohesive sartorial statements at the FAT Ice Race, the Polestar creative team also set a self-imposed challenge of bringing the designs to life in front of a buzzing crowd.

“We talked about creating the suits at the race, we even had a seamstress on hand to do it, but the timelines were just too tight,” explains Keith.

Instead, Keith and his talented painter, Scott Russell, set up in the Polestar Electric Garage, complete with a jig and spray booth. Fortunately, the generator that powered the kit was thankfully drowned out by the booming soundtrack of a nearby DJ, Keith explains.

“To complete the painting in a day was already going to be tricky, but we also had the cold air to contend with and achieving the fine gradient of the yellow motif typically takes multiple painting sessions. We had just one shot to nail it,” Keith says.

The results speak for themselves and the creative team managed to complete a helmet in a day, something Keith believes hasn’t been done before. 

The race suits and lids for the drivers, on the other hand, were pre-prepared. The bold designs drew admiring glances from the equally well-clad attendees as they paraded around the paddock.

A winning formula

“The drivers, including some of Polestar’s own engineers, were delighted with their new kit,” says Dan. “But we wanted the project to represent more than just a one-off activation”.

The high-tech racing sims, mentioned earlier in the article, also served a greater purpose, as they provided the opportunity for the 5,000-odd attendees to get their hands on one of the coveted helmets albeit half-sized.

“We had many people ask if they could buy one of the miniature helmets we produced and quite a few that wanted to see if it would fit their pet,” Keith says. 

In fact, 39 of the fastest virtual racers went home with a pint-sized trophy (a perfect, half-scale replica of the official race helmets), while the overall fastest lap was handed the full-sized Bell RS-7 carbon lid that was painted on the day. A one-of-one memento that will go down in official Polestar merch history.

The FAT Ice Race may have provided the automotive catwalk upon which Polestar’s most talented helmsmen could parade the racy new look, but Dan explains that this was merely the start of a journey.

“Our drivers will now wear the suits and helmets at events and track days, such as our customer ice driving activity in Sweden. It’s a look that now mirrors our design language and goes in line with the rest of Polestar’s identity,” he says.

As for Keith Wood - who is busy creating bespoke racewear for drivers at all levels of professional motorsport - he is keen to take the project to the next level, either fulfilling his grand ides of producing a race suit live in front of an audience or allowing members of the public to have their own chosen designs come to life over the course of a day.

But surely with the official FIA-sanctioned equipment and one of the most stylish aesthetics on the track, now is the time for Polestar to go racing. Never say never.