This range-topper will be far more than a flashy Volvo.
Polestar
A few years back, Volvo spun off its performance arm Polestar into its own sub-brand dedicated to electric / electrified vehicles We’ve seen some impressive debuts so far with the Polestar 1, a sexy PHEV sports coupe, and the normcore Polestar 2. And the future could get even more intriguing: Polestar just revealed new details about the forthcoming Polestar 5, which should be a genuine rival to the Porsche Taycan.
What is the Polestar 5? Well, Polestar is describing it as a four-door GT car that should sit atop the Polestar lineup in both performance and price. It should carry over a lot of the looks from Polestar’s stunning Precept concept car from 2020 — and it’s going to have an architecture of the sort that would typically be reserved for supercars: a bespoke, bonded aluminum platform.
Polestar
Why is a bonded aluminum platform important? Well, it’ll be super-rigid. Polestar told the UK outlet Autocar that the material would have “carbon-fiber level” torsional stiffness. A stiff chassis is ideal for a sports car, allowing enhanced body control and better ride comfort. The platform should also be incredibly lightweight to help offset the heavy battery packs and improve performance and efficiency.
This bespoke platform would also have the advantage of being a Polestar product designed to their specifications, rather than Polestar trying to milk more performance out of a platform designed for comparatively staid Volvo vehicles.
There’s no mention yet of Polestar 5 performance numbers or range. Polestar’s vehicle engineering director told Autocar there was some “interesting IP” in the battery technology the Polestar 5 will use. And Autocar says that Polestar has been benchmarking the Porsche Taycan.
When will the Polestar 5 arrive? We don’t have a date yet. Thus far, Polestar vehicles have launched in numerical order. Next up is the Polestar 3 SUV, which should launch in 2022. And Polestar, presumably, will launch the Polestar 4 — a Macan to the Polestar 3’s Cayenne — before production for the 5 gets off the ground. Figure late next year at the very, very earliest.
Keyword: Polestar Plans to Use Supercar Tech to Take on the Porsche Taycan