Polestar, Volvo's high-performance brand, has unveiled its first car, named as Polestar 1. It is a two-door, 2+2 seat Grand Tourer Coupé with an ‘Electric Performance Hybrid’ drivetrain. The Polestar 1 will be built in the state-of-the-art, purpose-built Polestar Production Centre in Chengdu, China. Currently under construction, it is due for completion in mid-2018. The order books for the new Polestar 1 open on 17 October 2017, with Polestar able to take expressions of interest from prospective customers immediately.
Recently, Volvo India rolled out the first locally assembled XC90!
Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar said; “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." Despite underpinning Volvo’s Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA), the Polestar 1 is approximately 50 percent new and bespoke, created by Polestar’s engineers. It is the world’s first car to be fitted with the all-new class-leading Öhlins Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension (CESi) advanced chassis technology.
The carbon fibre body of Polestar 1 has resulted in reduced bodyweight and improved torsional stiffness by 45 percent, as well as lowering the cars’ centre of gravity. Additionally, Polestar 1 uses a double electric rear axle which enables torque vectoring. The electric car would be ably supported by an internal combustion engine with maximum power output of 600bhp and peak torque performance of 1000Nm, which would firmly place it in the performance car segment. In addition, it would have a range of 150kms on pure electric power alone - the longest full electric range of any hybrid car on the market. Polestar 1 is all set to roll off the production line in mid-2019.
All future cars from Polestar will have a fully electric powertrain. Polestar 2 will start production later in 2019 and will be the first battery-electric vehicle (BEV) from the Volvo Car Group. It will be a mid-sized BEV, joining the competition around the Tesla Model 3, and with consequently higher volumes than Polestar 1. The initial phase of the Polestar product roll out will then be completed by the subsequent arrival of a larger SUV-style BEV, the Polestar 3. All the cars will be ordered 100 percent online and offered on a two or three year subscription basis. The ordering and configuration of Polestar cars will be conducted online via a Polestar app or online portal. However, it would also open a network of Polestar Spaces around the world and they would be standalone facilities and not within existing Volvo retailer showrooms.
