Photo: Polestar
When the newly-founded Polestar brand revealed the Polestar 1 sporty hybrid last October, it's safe to say anyone with well over $100,000 burning a hole in their wallets instantly fell in love.
The car was one of those very rare examples of concepts coming true with minimal adjustments, even though the concept in question did bear the Volvo markings when it was introduced. The once performance arm of Volvo - now a standalone brand - had made a very promising entrance on the stage, and its plans for the future didn't sound bad either.
The Polestar 1 was only the first of many, and it would serve as a transitory model toward fully-electric vehicles. Some people didn't like the sound of that, but they sure enjoyed the promised 600 hp of the coupe, obtained from a 2.0-liter twin-turbo gasoline engine driving the rear wheels and two electric motors mounted on the front ones.
So much so, in fact, that 5,000 people have already expressed their interest in the Polestar 1, which is all nice and dandy, except the Geely-oned Swedish company only plans to build 500 of them each year at its Chengdu factory in China.
That means the Polestar 1 production is accounted for the next ten years, which is another way of saying that a lot of people are going to be left out. Speaking to Automotive News, Thomas Ingenlath, the Polestar CEO, revealed the company is thinking about expanding its production capabilities to meet the high demand.
"We are looking at whether we could do a higher volume than 500 units a year. We are checking that out," he said. "I think there is potential to go to two shifts." A decision will probably be made after the new model has its official debut at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March and Polestar takes the first concrete preorders.
Given the promised specs, the exterior design, and Volvo's recent boost in interior quality, the Polestar 1's reception is entirely understandable. And as far as we're concerned, we're all for doubling production if that means seeing more of them on the street.
The Polestar 1 was only the first of many, and it would serve as a transitory model toward fully-electric vehicles. Some people didn't like the sound of that, but they sure enjoyed the promised 600 hp of the coupe, obtained from a 2.0-liter twin-turbo gasoline engine driving the rear wheels and two electric motors mounted on the front ones.
So much so, in fact, that 5,000 people have already expressed their interest in the Polestar 1, which is all nice and dandy, except the Geely-oned Swedish company only plans to build 500 of them each year at its Chengdu factory in China.
That means the Polestar 1 production is accounted for the next ten years, which is another way of saying that a lot of people are going to be left out. Speaking to Automotive News, Thomas Ingenlath, the Polestar CEO, revealed the company is thinking about expanding its production capabilities to meet the high demand.
"We are looking at whether we could do a higher volume than 500 units a year. We are checking that out," he said. "I think there is potential to go to two shifts." A decision will probably be made after the new model has its official debut at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March and Polestar takes the first concrete preorders.
Given the promised specs, the exterior design, and Volvo's recent boost in interior quality, the Polestar 1's reception is entirely understandable. And as far as we're concerned, we're all for doubling production if that means seeing more of them on the street.
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