Polestar, formerly an inbuilt division for Volvo making performance variants, and now an independent automaker that will make performance electric cars based on Volvo design and chassis, has showcased it’s first ever car – the ‘Polestar 1’. The Polestar 1 will be an hybrid performance car that will be built in a new purpose built factory in China alongside two other cars that Polestar will showcase soon. The Polestar 1 will have an electric motor along with a set of electric batteries along with a turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine that will power the car.
The all-electric range on the Polestar 1 will be 150 kms, which is the longest range of any hybrid car running purely on electric power on the market today. Combined with the 4-cylinder engine, the Polestar 1 will put out 600 bhp of peak power and 1000 Nm of peak torque. The Polestar 1 will be the halo offering of the Polestar brand and is a four-seater 2-door coupe that is essentially a coupe version of the Volvo S90. The car is underpinned by the Volvo SPA that also underpins the S90 sedan in its standard form but has been modified by up to 50 per cent to accommodate the high performance batteries and motor.
While the internal combustion engine will power the front wheels, the rear wheels will be powered by two independent electric motors that will together make 218 bhp. This will also give the Polestar 1 an all wheel drive layout with torque vectoring when the complete powertrain is in use, or a rear wheel drive layout, also with torque vectoring, if only electric power is used.
The performance underpins continue with the suspension setup that has been made and fine tuned by Ohlins. The custom continuously controlled electronic suspension, the first of its kind in the world on any production car by Ohlins is said to offer an unmatched blend of performance and comfort with the driver being able to adjust and fine tune chassis damping on the go according to their needs. The Polestar 1 also gets Akebono 6-piston brakes with massive 400 mm discs and a 48(front):52(rear) weight distribution.
In terms of design, the Polestar 1 looks like a Volvo S90 based coupe and is actually very very similar to the 2013 Volvo Coupe Concept. Most of the body on the Polestar 1 will be made from carbon fibre, which will reduce in huge weight drops of nearly 230 kg as compared to using aluminium. The Polestar 1 also features Volvo design themes like the boomerang shaped curved tail lamps, the upright front stance and most importantly, the Thor’s hammer headlamps!
The Polestar 1 will soon be joined by two other cars in the Polestar family. Where the 1 is a hybrid vehicle, the Polestar 2 and the Polestar 3 will be battery electric vehicles without an internal combustion engine option. The Polestar 2 will be an all-electric sedan that will compete with the likes of the Tesla Model 3 and will be unveiled very soon and go into production by late 2019. The Polestar 3 will be a large SUV which is in the final stages of design and will be showcased soon too. The Polestar 3 will be priced in between the Polestar 2 sedan and the Polestar 1 flagship coupe.
As an alternate to car ownership, Polestar will also offer a monthly subscription for its cars. The user can simply pay a monthly charge without a deposit and can avail of any of the cars in the Polestar range by pre-booking them for extended periods of time or shorter durations. The subscription charge will be fixed for either a 2 year or a 3 year period and will give access to a special dedicated concierge service. Polestar will also offer customers a home pick up and drop service for their subscribed cars.
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