Photo: Guido Ten Brink/SB-Medien
Unveiled in October 2017, the Polestar 1 celebrates its first public appearance today at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. And to mark this moment, the Volvo-owned automaker painted one of the show cars in a fan-bleeding-tastic shade of matte gray.
The electrified coupe, which is based on the Scalable Product Architecture that underpins the 60 and 90 Series, was made possible by Volvo’s advances in plug-in hybrid technology. As a matter of fact, what Polestar brought to Geneva is the plug-in hybrid with the longest electric range on the market: 150 kilometers (93 miles).
Outperforming some older battery-powered electric vehicles (think Mitsubishi i-Miev), the Polestar 1 takes its mojo from a 34-kWh battery. A pair of electric motors drive the rear wheels, and up front, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine gets down to business. Like the T6 Drive-E in Volvo models, the internal combustion part of the drivetrain relies on both turbocharging and supercharging.
With 600 horsepower on tap and an earth-shattering 1,000 Nm (738 pound-feet) of torque, few plug-in hybrid vehicles under €150,000 can match the performance of the Polestar 1. Speaking of which, pricing hasn’t been announced, but it’s believed to start in the region from €130,000 to €150k for the entry-level, bone-stock trim.
The pre-production prototypes showcased in Geneva are an appetizer of what’s to come, with the standalone performance brand announcing that production will start in mid-2019. Construction of the manufacturing facility started at the end of November 2017, and believe it or not, the 1 will be assembled in Chengdu, China.
Chengdu is an attractive proposition for carmakers as of late, with FAW-Volkswagen operating a factory here since 2011. FAW Toyota, Volvo, and Volvo’s parent Geely are also present in the Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone. China is also the country where Volvo will start production of its first-ever electric car, coming in 2019 on the Common Modular Architecture.
In addition to the 1, Polestar is also working on the 2 and 3. The second model from the performance-oriented brand will rival the Tesla Model 3 and start production by the end of 2019, with the Polestar 3 coming in 2020 in the form of an all-electric SUV the size of the XC60.
Outperforming some older battery-powered electric vehicles (think Mitsubishi i-Miev), the Polestar 1 takes its mojo from a 34-kWh battery. A pair of electric motors drive the rear wheels, and up front, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine gets down to business. Like the T6 Drive-E in Volvo models, the internal combustion part of the drivetrain relies on both turbocharging and supercharging.
With 600 horsepower on tap and an earth-shattering 1,000 Nm (738 pound-feet) of torque, few plug-in hybrid vehicles under €150,000 can match the performance of the Polestar 1. Speaking of which, pricing hasn’t been announced, but it’s believed to start in the region from €130,000 to €150k for the entry-level, bone-stock trim.
The pre-production prototypes showcased in Geneva are an appetizer of what’s to come, with the standalone performance brand announcing that production will start in mid-2019. Construction of the manufacturing facility started at the end of November 2017, and believe it or not, the 1 will be assembled in Chengdu, China.
Chengdu is an attractive proposition for carmakers as of late, with FAW-Volkswagen operating a factory here since 2011. FAW Toyota, Volvo, and Volvo’s parent Geely are also present in the Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone. China is also the country where Volvo will start production of its first-ever electric car, coming in 2019 on the Common Modular Architecture.
In addition to the 1, Polestar is also working on the 2 and 3. The second model from the performance-oriented brand will rival the Tesla Model 3 and start production by the end of 2019, with the Polestar 3 coming in 2020 in the form of an all-electric SUV the size of the XC60.
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