The Polestar 1 unveiled in Shanghai is not entirely new to car design enthusiasts. Remember the Concept Coupé presented by Volvo at Frankfurt in 2013? This was the model that announced the new styling departure of the Swedish brand, emotionally elegant in its design and proportions. A pity it hasn’t gone into production yet. In fact, Volvo had different plans, as Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath says. Polestar was already dedicated to high performance cars and as of today is a brand officially independent of the Volvo Car Group for high-performance electric cars. Instead of simply becoming the Series 90 coupé, that concept has therefore become the forerunner – hence the figure “1” – of the new brand.
“Polestar 1 is the first car to carry the Polestar on the bonnet. A beautiful GT with amazing technology packed into it – a great start for our new Polestar brand. All future cars from Polestar will feature a fully electric drivetrain, delivering on our brand vision of being the new standalone electric performance brand”, said Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar.
The Polestar 1 is a two-door, 2+2 seat Grand Tourer Coupé with an ‘Electric Performance Hybrid’ drivetrain. An electric car supported by an internal combustion engine, it has a range of 150 kms on pure electric power alone, the longest full electric range of any hybrid car on the market. Its output of 600hp and 1000Nm of torque places the car in the performance car segment.
The car is based upon Volvo’s Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) but approximately 50% is new and bespoke, created by Polestar’s engineers. The Polestar 1 will be built in the state-of-the-art, purpose-built Polestar Production Centre in Chengdu, China.
