► Meet the Polestar 02► Revealed in LA
► A sports roadster with the Precept’s underpinnings
Polestar has revealed an all-new concept, which looks to further cement the look, feel and mission of the brand. Called the Polestar 02, it’s not an SUV or a GT car – but a sports roadster that aims for engaging driving with zero emissions powertrain.
‘Polestar O2 is the hero car for our brand,’ said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO at the reveal of the concept in LA. ‘It opens the door to our secret chamber of future potential. This is a taste of what we can design and engineer with the talent and technology we have in-house. It looks incredible and being able to lower the roof and not hear an engine promises a superb sensation.’
What specs are there?
The Polestar 02 concept looks a lot like the Polestar Precept (soon to be the Polestar 5) and that’s partly because it an adapted version of the same platform. Made from aluminium, it’s roughly the same width and height as the Precept – but is 400mm shorter due to the removal of the rear ‘foot garages’ or foot wells.
Polestar says the O2 should have a dynamic sporty response and linear feel, thanks to its aluminium chassis – and also because it’s based on a platform developed by Polestar’s R&D team in the UK.
We’re told the 02 will share the same battery and overall powertrain as the Precept and Polestar 5, too.
Design
As you’d expect, the new concept features the same divided Thor’s Hammer lights as the precept, and combines it with aero that should make it efficient; a key requirement of electric cars.
Inside, Polestar has moved forward on its focus on sustainability. The 02 uses a new thermoplastic mono-material (essentialy a material made of just one thing for easier recycling) and metal components are also labelled for easier reuse.
Will it make it to production?
The Precept is the only other Polestar concept car we’ve seen, and that’s already confirmed for production as the Polestar 5. With that in mind, it’s quite possible that the 02 – which shares the same platform as the 5/Precept could make it to production.
What almost certainly wouldn’t appear on a production car, however, is the Polestar 02’s counterpart drone. Sitting behind the seats, the drone is autonomous and programmed to follow the car at speeds of up to 90km/h. The idea is to capture drives, and then edit them on the car’s 15-inch touchscreen.
‘We wanted to emphasise the experience you can have with a car like the Polestar O2 in new and unusual ways,’ continues Maximilian Missoni. ‘Integrating an autonomous cinematic drone was something that allowed us to push the boundaries on the innovation front.’
Keyword: Polestar 02 concept: electric sports roadster revealed in LA