Extensive use of the stuff sounds very Lotus-inspired.
Nascent Swedish sports car company Polestar, spun off of parent marque Volvo, may be new to the scene but they’re well aware of what it takes to make a good sports car. Despite only very recently acquiring Lotus, the Geely-owned company seems to have adhered to the Norfolk company’s long-held covenant of keeping everything as light as humanly possible.
Carbon fibre has played more than a passing role in the the Polestar 1’s inception, with the composite material used extensively throughout its construction. It’s a first for Volvo Group, using so much carbon-fibre.
“Carbon fibre is crucial in meeting our design, engineering, and performance goals for Polestar 1. The result is a beautiful, technological package that remains faithful to the original design with its elegant and low silhouette. It looks as good as it is to drive.” — Thomas Ingenlath, CEO, Polestar
The spine of the car, called the ‘dragonfly,’ is made exclusively out of the stuff, aiding torsional rigidity which in turn improves agility and dynamism. Further, things like the bonnet, boot, side panels, and even the roof are made of carbon fibre, all of which have resulted in a weight-shaving of some 230kg. Not an insignificant amount, considering the amount of batteries on board.
The Polestar 1, as its name suggests, is the first ground-up model for the company, following the formal split between Polestar and its repositioning as a performance-focused firm, leaving its shell as an AMG-esque division of resurgent luxury carmaker Volvo. An amicable split to say the least, Polestar’s repositioning aims to help define the playing fields that Volvo and Polestar target respectively, leaving the established luxury carmaker to keep making plush and comfortable passenger cars while the new Polestar brand won’t have to make apologies for its performance-first aspirations.
The Polestar 1 not only sets the pace for the company going forward, but it also serves as a platform to highlight the synergy between itself and its parent company, as this car’s DNA is plain to see. Its design is heavily-influenced by the Volvo Concept Coupe that we first clapped eyes on way back in 2013 (which subsequently led the design revolution for Volvo), and retains characteristic design traits from the parent company while adding its own distinct signatures to the mix. This is the first Polestar product that is entirely bereft of Volvo ‘Iron Mark’ badging, and retains just 50% of the Scalable Product Architecture that underpins Volvo’s latest crop of cars.
The drivetrain beneath the Polestar 1 is a heavily-reworked version of the T8 TwinEngine setup currently found in the Volvo S90 and XC90, though it’s been uptuned in this application. As mentioned earlier, the petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain has been engineered further and now produces an astonishing 441kW of power and 1000Nm of twist, which Polestar promises will rocket the car from rest to 96km/h (60mph) in less than 4-seconds.
The potency of the Polestar 1 is hampered somewhat by its 2-tonne weight, a penalty of packing a 34kWh battery (split into two positions in the car for better weight distribution) and two electric motors at the rear, but is offset by that weight saving thanks to all that CFRP. Amazingly, this hybrid rocket ship will also pander to the environmentally-conscious motorist too, as its relatively-lightweight construction and efficient use of power means that it can travel on battery power alone for as far as 150km on a single charge, the greatest range of any combustion-electric hybrid vehicle in the world.
Deliveries of the Polestar 1 will begin in the first half of next year, with production beginning in the first quarter of 2019 from their new factory in Chengdu, China. Interestingly, the Polestar 1 was initially said to be left-hook only, but a number of right-hand drive debut markets have been announced since. As such, there’s a possibility, a small one, that the Polestar 1 might make it to Australian shores in the future. We’re hopeful.
For more information on Polestar, check out our Volvo showroom.
