The very first model from Volvo Car Corp’s high-performance subsidiary, Polestar, has finally surfaced in the form of the 600-PS Polestar 1.
Following an investment of € 640 million (Rs 4,860 crore) in Polestar by Volvo Car Corporation and Geely Holdings, the high-performance arm has revealed the first of the new hybrid and electric vehicles that will form their rather intense portfolio.
The Polestar 1 is styled heavily on the Volvo Concept Coupé, shown back in 2013. Although it is based on the SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform that underpins the new 60 and 90 line of cars, it is almost 50 per cent new, and rather bespoke, resulting is a cutting-edge two-door, four-seater coupé model. It aims to be a proper driver’s car, and the effort gone into development and its equipment list second that. It has a carbon-fibre body that lowers weight as well as improves torsional rigidity by as much as 45 per cent. It also boasts of Öhlins Controlled Electronic Suspension (CESi), and a double electric rear axle that packs torque vectoring, for precise acceleration and maximum grip.
The styling is akin to the S90, with Thor’s Hammer signature LED headlamps, and a sporty, more aggressive front grille that’s actually devoid of the traditional diagonal Volvo chrome slat and Iron Mark, instead bearing a new badge: the Polestar logo, atop the bonnet. The track width front and rear appear wider and the proportions and smooth and curvy, with noticeable styling cure to make it appear sharper and sportier, with a pronounced squat when viewed from the rear. The sloping coupé roofline also has a roof made of glass. Think of it as an extremely sporty S60 coupé; a spiritual C60, if you will.
Inside, the layout is akin to its Volvo siblings, more precisely, the S90, with the huge touchscreen centre display with familiar dials. The carbon-fibre trim highlights underscore its sport credentials. The major difference here, again, is the Polestar logo, and not the Iron Mark. Expect nothing but high-quality comfort seating with highly considerate ergonomics, in tune with their values, but embodying their reinvigorated sporty side.
What’s even more remarkable is the powertrain. The only details Volvo and Polestar have divulged is that it is an ‘Electric Performance Hybrid’ with 600 PS and 1,000 Nm of torque. You read that right. It is essentially an electric car supported by an internal combustion engine. It promises 150 km of pure electric range. The combustion engine drives the front wheels with the double electric rear axle powering the rear wheels.
From what we know, we can say that the layout is akin to the XC90 T8 we have here: it should be the 1,969-cc four-cylinder engine, with two- even three-way forced induction, in the front, with the two electric motors in the back. Where the T8 makes 320 PS, this motor produces about 367 PS, maybe even closer to 400. The two electric motors at the rear should be more powerful units than the 65-kW (88-PS equivalent) ones seen earlier on the V60 D6 PHEV and XC90 T8 TwinEngine models. The combined peak output is, as mentioned earlier, 600 PS and 1,000 Nm.
The new Polestar 1 will be produced at the dedicated new facility that’s being built in Chengdu, due to be completed by the middle of next year. Polestar will also move away from the traditional ownership experience by offering the car for sale online only, on a two- or three-year subscription basis. The monthly subscription includes zero deposit, and will also add features such as insurance, pick-up, delivery, servicing, roadside assistance, and even alternative rentals within the Volvo and Polestar family with Polestar On Demand.
The Polestar 1 order books open today. Polestar will soon have a network of ‘Polestar Spaces’ around the world for a more personal experience with the new brand and its car line.
The second car, Polestar 2, will be an all-electric model and will arrive between 2019 and 2020. It will be a battery electric vehicle aimed squarely at the Tesla Model 3. The third car, the Polestar 3, will be a larger SUV model, and will arrive later.
Story: Jim Gorde
EDIT:
The Polestar 1 has a 2.0-litre charged petrol engine with about 340 PS and 450 Nm. Two 80-kW (109 PS) electric motors drive a wheel each, with a third 34-kW (46 PS) e-motor functioning as an ISG (integrated starter generator), for a combined 600 PS and 1,000 Nm.
