Polestar 1 development moves to the dynamic testing stages
The 600-horsepower hybrid supercoupe aims to be thrilling and comfortable.
Back in October the first verification prototype examples of the Polestar 1 began assembly in Sweden for dyanamic evaluation, weather testing and crash tests. In addition to producing road-going examples of the hybrid grand tourer, the pilot run provided an opportunity to test and refine production equipment and build techniques before being transferred to the factory in Chengdu, China.
As for the prototype cars themselves, some have slammed into walls, while others have been a bit luckier to be used for drive experience evaluations. Volvo's in-house performance arm documented that process in a newly released video showing the 600-horsepower beast going through a variety of exercises including high-speed runs on a banked track and handling courses.
Through it all, test drivers evaluate steering response, torque vectoring calibration and suspension behavior. The main goal, according to Polestar chief test driver Joakim Rydholm, is to create a dual-purpose car. "Whenever you drive a Polestar 1, you should immediately feel like you are in control and that the car is ready to respond to your input, no matter what you do," he said in a statement today. "This is a GT that needs to be easy to drive and comfortable in everyday use with its smooth and quiet hybrid drivetrain -- but also ready to deliver its thrilling 600 hp and 1,000 newton-meter performance whenever the driver wants it."
In early 2019, the first activity in the nearly completed Chinese factory will be to build the final prototype series of Polestar 1s followed by preproduction cars assembled to final specification and quality standard.
To recap, the carbon fiber Polestar 1 will start at $155,000, but will be available by subscription, too. It's Polestar's first car and the only one that will have a gas engine. All future Polestar models will be full electric vehicles, which includes the Polestar 2 sedan that will be a direct competitor to the Tesla Model 3. The Polestar 3 SUV will appear in the years to come.
