You can ‘download’ extra bhp if you own this car! Maybe Tata and Mahindra EVs will offer this in the future

The future is here! We are saying this because a few years ago if we said that you can download more power for a car, it would have been deemed unimaginable. However, today this has become a reality. Recently, the Swedish automotive brand Polestar – the electric sub-brand of Volvo Cars, announced that its electric fastback model, the Polestar 2 will receive a bump in the power figures just by downloading an update.

Polestar stated that the existing customers of its Polestar 2 electric vehicle could download an over-the-air (OTA) software update and it will increase the power of their vehicles. With this OTA the car will produce an additional 68 bhp of power and 20 Nm of torque. The company has rolled out this update at the cost of $1,195. The software update is available for the Polestar 2’s dual-motor powertrain with long range and it takes the power statistics from an existing 408 bhp and 660 Nm of torque to a total output of 476hp and 680 Nm of torque.

It has been revealed that, unlike other brands where these types of updates are yearly subscription-based, Polestar is offering it as a permanent upgrade for the cost. Customers’ Polestar 2 EVs will experience a drop in zero to 60 mph acceleration to 4.2 seconds after paying for the update. The company claims that the extra torque and power would be most noticeable between 44 and 80 mph, “resulting in even, speedy mid-range acceleration,” and that the time from 50 to 75 mph will be 2.2 seconds, which is exactly half a second faster than a conventional dual-motor Polestar 2.

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Owners willing to opt for the update may easily pay the extra charge on the company’s official website and start the download, after putting in their vehicle’s VIN number. A new set of door stickers displaying the most recent power information, as well as a launch control feature, are reportedly included in the upgrade in addition to the improved power output. The update is also available to new clients who are still waiting for their Polestar 2 through a $5,500 Performance package that includes Ohlins adjustable dampers, Brembo brakes, and 20-inch forged aluminium wheels.

In similar news, “acceleration boost” was featured as an option for select electric vehicles by German luxury automaker Mercedes Benz in its online store. According to the Mercedes-Benz website, the extra option will cost $1,200 annually and will be available shortly. Customers who pay the price will be able to increase their electric Mercedes’ power output by 20% to 24%. Furthermore, as per Mercedes, the upgrade will also increase torque and reduce a vehicle’s time from zero to 60 mph by up to one second. Both the EQE and EQS sedans and the EQE and EQS SUVs will be able to use them.

These types of upgrades are slowly becoming more popular amongst electric vehicles made by various manufacturers and we believe that this could maybe become a common occurrence in India as well. Currently, EVs from Tata Motors and other manufacturers are gaining traction in the country and it would be great to see if the legacy manufacturers of our country also provide something similar.

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