Words by Ganesh Murthy
Volvo’s performance brand, Polestar has unveiled its two door coupe, the Polestar 1 which produces a peak power of 600bhp and maximum torque of 1000Nm, putting it in the supercar territory. The highlights are the two electric motors driving the rear wheels with a supporting 2-litre inline four cylinder engine with supercharging and turbocharging, which drives the front wheels, giving it a range of 150 kms on purely electric power. The supercharger along with the turbocharger adds torque from low to medium engine speeds and above 3500rpm, the turbo takes over adding power and torque all the way to the red line.
The Polestar 1 along with two other upcoming cars, which are said to be Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), will be made in a state of the art production facility, currently under construction, in Chengdu, China. Polestar says all its future cars will be powered by fully electric powertrains starting with the Polestar 2, which will be a BEV and will be a direct rival to the Tesla Model 3. It is slated for production later in 2019. The third car will be an SUV called as Polestar 3, again a BEV which will complete the initial phase of Polestar products.
The Polestar 1 will feature carbonfibre roof, and they have extensively used carbonfibre reinforced polymer in parts like the upper body, bonnet, doors and boot lid to maximize stiffness, torsional rigidity and to reduce weight. It features an integrated active rear spoiler to create down force, which deploys automatically at speeds above 100kmph and retracts once the speed comes down below 70kmph. It boasts of a panoramic glass roof which stretches from the windscreen to the upper edge of the rear window. The triple battery setup with power of 34kWh is positioned such that the weight distribution is 48 per cent of the front wheels and 52 per cent on the rear.
On the dynamics front, the car is equipped with Ohlins Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension (CESi), the first production car to do so. A double wishbone front suspension connecting each wheel with transverse links counteracts torque steer and integral link design with transverse composite leaf springs on the rear for balanced cornering, reduced body roll and NVH levels, claim Polestar. Braking is taken care by ventilated discs with 6 piston Akebono calipers in the front and Conti EPB in the rear.
Polestar has started taking orders via the subscription route for the Polestar 1 as on October 17, 2017 for prospective customers and orders can be placed via Polestar app or by online portal.