Influence from Precept concept is evident
Open-roof electric grand tourer, which will follow the Polestar 5, sold out in 500-car launch guise
The Polestar 6 convertible electric sports car has sold out in its initial 500-car guise just one week after its public debut.
Presented to crowds at The Quail and Pebble Beach in the US, the Polestar 6 will be launched in 2026. It appeared in the US in LA Concept edition guise – an exclusive first edition version of the car with a sky-blue exterior and other design features from the O2 concept, on which it is based.
Polestar will open additional build slots before the end of 2022, and CEO Thomas Ingenlath lauded the importance of electric roadsters.
“The high interest from our customers shows that a stunning electric roadster like the Polestar 6 has high relevance in the sportscar arena,” said Ingenlath. “The open-top-plus-electric combination is clearly one that appeals to even the most die-hard petrolheads.”
When Polestar revealed its jaw-dropping O2 convertible concept in March, Ingenlath said that it would be “irresponsible” not to launch a production version of the convertible. Following an “overwhelming” consumer response, the firm is now doing just that.
The production 6 keeps the concept’s folding hard-top and use the same bonded aluminium platform as the Polestar 5 grand tourer, which is due a year earlier.
It also shares that car’s 800V charging architecture and dual-motor, four-wheel-drive powertrain, which produces 874bhp and 663lb ft for a 3.2sec 0-62mph time and a 155mph top speed.
The 6 will arrive as one of just a handful of dedicated two-seat sports EVs due in the coming years from brands including Alpine, Lotus, MG and Porsche, although it looks set to place more of an emphasis on long-distance refinement and luxury.
As it’s based on an adapted version of the aluminium architecture that has been developed by Polestar’s UK engineering base in Warwickshire for the forthcoming 5, the 6 should offer comparable “supercar levels” of body stiffness.
Polestar O2 concept
The O2 took design cues from the Precept concept – which previewed the 5 – and Ingenlath said it was developed with two goals: further reinforcing the brand’s image as a “luxury sports brand” and pushing internal development.
“The energy and vision that it brings into the company definitely drives us,” said Ingenlath. “We made the Precept a reality with the Polestar 5, and that’s the result of us daring to go out with that vision.”
He added: “The propulsion of an electric drivetrain is great for a sports car. And then to do it when an open-roof concept, when everybody dreams about ‘the fresh air, the breeze, being closer to nature’ – it’s a perfect fit to have that with an electric drivetrain, and not only have fresh air when you arrive at it, but you’ll leave it for the people behind you.
“Electric propulsion is absolutely a perfect fit for a roadster, so I would love to put an exclamation mark that the future of driving an open roadster has to be electric.”
The O2, which features a fixed retracting roof, is substantially shorter than the 5, at around 4600mm long, with the wheelbase shrunk by around 400mm. This has been enabled by removing the ‘foot garage’ – a well in the skateboard chassis floor of the 5 to increase rear leg room – from the platform. Polestar claims this will allow the model to maintain huge rigidity, ensuring it offers strong handling and dynamics.
The concept sits on 22in wheels and features aerodynamically sculpted bodywork that is designed to maximise range by improving airflow and reducing turbulence behind the vehicle.
The O2 has also been created with a focus on sustainability in terms of design and materials, notably with a new thermoplastic mono-material used as the base for various components, and the use of recycled polyester for all the soft interior materials. Polestar says the machine makes use of recycled materials where possible, including in the aluminium shells.
The focus on sustainability has included learning from Polestar’s project to develop a truly zero-emission car by 2030. Design chief Maximilian Missoni said: “We’ve put some of the ideas we’ve developed from Project Zero into the O2 to say, ‘look, we can do products that are highly emotional and aspirational and still take people towards that goal towards zero emissions’. It’s not like we’re going to enjoy ourselves as long as we can and then switch to tiny zero-emission cars: we can do both.”
The O2 also contains a novel feature: an autonomous cinematic drone, developed by Hoco Flow, which can be deployed when the car is moving to record driving sequences. An aerofoil behind the rear seats raises with the roof down to create a calm area of negative pressure that will allow the drone to launch while the car is moving, and it can follow the car at speeds up to 56mph.
Asked if the O2 could be mechanically linked to future models from Geely-owned sibling brand Lotus, Ingenlath said: “The O2 highlights what we created for the Polestar 5. This aluminium frame is Polestar-developed and serves other purposes, being able to have this grand, luxurious GT on there in the Polestar 5.
“This concept we designed for Polestar, and every brand in the Geely group would like to use it and we are open to cooperation. But it has to serve the purpose of the brand, and I cannot talk here for other brands of the Geely group. When it comes to powertrain, us developing a powerful electric engine for top-line performance, this is technology that is not just solely interesting for the Polestar brand but that we consider sharing within the Geely Group.”
