At a first glance, it’s deceptive. The shape of the electric Polestar 4 might lead a distracted observer to think of it as a particularly curvy saloon, but it is Maximilian Missoni, Polestar’s head of design, who makes us think twice. “The Polestar 4 is a chameleon: we did a great job with its disguise”, smiles Missoni, whom we meet at the Shanghai Motor Show where the car made its début on a particularly striking stand surrounded by thousands of red poppies. “As with all our cars, we started from the proportions, which had to be compact but sleek at the same time. Hence the reason for such a dynamic silhouette with a long wheelbase and tapered rear”, Missoni continues.
A global car
For the new model, the mission this time was more difficult perhaps than the others: the Polestar 4 was conceived from the outset as a global car, dedicated to as many markets as possible. The mission was to design a car that would appeal everywhere, from Europe to China: “We succeeded by creating a new architecture: we combined the personality of a saloon with the comfort and space of an SUV and the sportiness of a coupé”.
There is no rear window
This was done differently with respect to its competitors, as Missoni points out, without simply lowering the roofline and reducing the headroom for passengers: “Instead, we started by moving the windscreen forward and lowered the bonnet to create a sporty silhouette”. Then, a real kicker: “We moved the roof structure further back by eliminating the rear window and replacing it with two very high resolution cameras that transmit images to the digital mirror. So we managed to keep the headroom for the passengers intact and at the same time achieved a coupé-like profile”.
Bright interior
No panic for those who think they might feel a sense of claustrophobia due to the lack of light: “All the other glass surfaces are very large, and in addition we have an electro-chromic panoramic roof that extends to behind the heads of the rear passengers. Furthermore, just like on a luxury saloon, for the second row we provided for electrically reclining backrests, customised climate controls and an ambience of absolute relaxation guaranteed by the incredibly quiet ride. The experience you would expect in a lounge”.
The first on the new platform
The work of the engineers also focused on aerodynamic efficiency, which is crucial for an electric car. Contributing to this are the lowered front end, retractable door handles, flush glazing with frameless windows, aerodynamic slats at the rear and optimisation of the airflow around the headlamp bar moved slightly higher given the space available. The absence of the rear window is not the only “première” of the Polestar 4: for the first time the brand is using for one of its models the Sustainable Experience Architecture platform developed by the Geely group and reserved for zero-emission cars, which has allowed it to obtain a wheelbase of no less than 2.9 metres against an overall length of 4.8 metres.
Technical and fashionable materials
For the materials of the interior – dominated by the large 15.4-inch display in the centre of the dashboard – the designers created Soft Tech, a new knitted fabric composed of 100% recycled PET that combines two parallel worlds by drawing inspiration both from fashion and sportswear. “A cross between fashion and technical ware with a final result of beauty, functionality and a surprising sense of luxury”, Missoni continues. The studies that led to the new material were carried out by the Polestar designers together with the Swedish Textile School (Borås Textilhögskolan) and further developed with the brand’s suppliers to go into production. “Those who want to, of course, can choose leather, which is Nappa leather, traceable through and throughout to avoid animal exploitation. Everything is consistent with our founding values: to make beautiful and sustainable cars”.
(Full article in A&D no. 262)
