Polestar has sold the first 500 units of its new electric convertible grand tourer.
Revealed at The Quail and Pebble Beach in the US last month, the Polestar 6 will be launched in 2026 and has sold out in its initial 500-car guise just one week after its public debut.
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 652kW for a 3.2sec 0-100km/h time and a 250km/h 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 for the forthcoming 5, the 6 should offer comparable “supercar levels” of body stiffness.
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.”
James Attwood