Polestar has this week revealed its first model as a standalone brand, as well as detailed its vision to become the future of EV performance. Powered by an ‘electric performance hybrid’ drivetrain, the grand tourer coupé will roll off the production line in mid-2019.
“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,” said Thomas Ingenlath, CEO at Polestar. “All future cars from Polestar will feature a fully electric drivetrain, delivering on our brand vision of being the new standalone electric performance brand.”
The two-door, 2+2 seat grand tourer coupé packs 608ps and 1000Nm of torque, and while the car will be capable of 0-100km/h in under four seconds, the PHEV can travel 150km on pure electric power alone – the longest fully electric range of any hybrid car on the market.
With a focus on making a true driver’s car, the 1 is built around Volvo’s Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA), but thanks to the performance brand’s engineers 50% is new and bespoke.
The chassis is the first in the world to feature Öhlins Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension (CESi) technology, and thanks to a carbon-fiber body torsional stiffness is down 45%. Additionally, Polestar’s flagship features a double electric rear axle which enables torque vectoring. This means that acceleration is monitored on each wheel to ensure maximum road grip and maintain speed round corners.
In a revolutionary new ownership model, first seen with the new Volvo XC40, the Polestar 1 will be ordered 100% online and offered on a zero-deposit two or three-year subscription basis, with the monthly cost including pick-up and delivery servicing, as well as the ability to rent alternative vehicles within the range.
After Volvo’s recent announcement that all cars from 2019 will have an electric motor, Polestar has followed suit and stated that the 1 will be the last model to feature an IC engine. With the 2 set for production later in 2019, it will become the first BEV from Volvo Car Group.
The Polestar 1 unveiling follows a €640m (US$755m) investment in the performance brand from parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding as it attempts to support the now-standalone brand’s development.