What the 2024 Polestar 3 reveals concerning the model’s future

On paper, the 2024 Polestar 3 is precisely what it appears like: Polestar’s third mannequin. It is also the model’s first entry into the SUV phase, however there’s much more to it than that. It illustrates the route that executives plan to steer Polestar in as they embark on a significant enlargement.

“The core of our model is represented within the 3,” affirmed firm boss (and ex-Volvo designer) Thomas Ingenlath. Maximilian Missoni, the agency’s head of design, echoed these feedback: “This automobile actually reveals the place Polestar goes,” he advised me shortly after unveiling the three.

The place is Polestar going? Above all, it is shifting away from co-owner Volvo. Its first two automobiles (known as 1 and a pair of, respectively) got here to life underneath Volvo’s watch; the 1 made its debut in 2013 because the attractive, P1800-inspired Volvo Idea Coupe and the two was revealed three years later because the Volvo 40.2 idea, which picked up a ball set rolling by the uncommon, high-riding S60 Cross Nation (do not forget that one?) in 2015.

The numerous distinction between the three and earlier Polestar fashions is that it was designed in-house from the get-go. Positive, it is constructed on the identical primary platform that may underpin the next-generation XC90 due out within the coming months however almost every thing else is brand-specific, together with the suspension, steering, chassis tuning, tires, inside structure, and the Principle concept-inspired exterior design.

“It is like a guitar: two completely different musicians can create fully completely different music with the identical instrument,” Ingenlath identified.

One of many largest differentiators is design. Angular but aerodynamic, the three inaugurates the design language that may permeate the remainder of the vary in the course of the 2020s. There is a sprinkling of Volvo-ness up entrance, the distinctive form of the LED daytime operating lights notably creates a visible hyperlink between the 2 manufacturers, however it’s refined. What’s inside (and, crucially, what’s not inside) is much more vital.

“It was a deliberate determination to make the three with two rows of seats. In a manner, that stands for what we do at Polestar. We do not attempt to do every thing. We’ve to select what’s the proper determination for our model. Creating an opulent and ethereal cabin for 4 or 5 folks was doable as a result of we clearly stated we do not desire a seven-seater. If we’d have added two extra seats, instantly the aerodynamic move of the silhouette must be compromised and instantly you would need to make a compromise by way of the way you place the opposite two rows. That is clearly not our path.” Ingenlath defined. Studying between the traces strongly suggests the XC90 will arrive with three rows.

Joakim Rydholm, the corporate’s head of chassis improvement, harassed the three will not drive just like the XC90 it is associated to as a result of his workforce tuned the chassis in-house to make it sportier than Volvo’s. “They’re two completely different automobiles with two completely different philosophies,” he famous. And, whereas the platform is comparatively modular and taking out one of many electrical motors is technically doable, a one-motor variant is not within the pipeline.

Polestar seems to be prepared to face by itself, then. It would not have Volvo’s huge heritage, however it argues that is a bonus as a result of it might create a automobile on a clean sheet of paper with out catering to pre-established expectations. The newcomer standing additionally partially explains why Polestar has been extra open about its future fashions than lots of its friends and rivals: the 5 will not steal gross sales from an current mannequin, for instance.

Heritage is not completely misplaced on the Polestar workforce, and Ingenlath apparently argued the model is settling right into a traditionally vital spot.

“Previously, Scandinavia had two very sturdy and iconic manufacturers. Certainly one of them form of disappeared, and now Polestar is coming as much as fill that void,” he identified, seemingly referring to Saab with out calling out the progressive, quirky, and now-dead carmaker by title.

We already know what’s subsequent: due out in late 2023, the three can be adopted by a crossover with a fastback-like roof line known as 4, a sedan impressed by the Principle idea named 5, and the manufacturing model of the convertible O2 idea dubbed — you guessed it — 6. When all is claimed and achieved, Polestar’s vary will lengthen throughout a number of segments. Releasing a automobile under the two has been dominated out, and never simply because the 1 nameplate has already been used: the agency needs to play within the premium house and keep away from spreading its sources too skinny.

“We’ve no plans for the second to make a smaller automobile. We’ve the two, and sooner or later we need to hold such a place in our portfolio, however right now we do not see that we’ll lengthen right into a small phase. Designing a small Polestar is tempting however, once more: focus,” Ingenlath stated.

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