Polestar’s new production 5 will stay true to the design of the Precept.
Polestar has previewed the final production version of its new 5 grand tourer in a ‘behind-the-scenes’ video which explores how its design will be evolved from the striking Precept concept.
Polestar’s new UK R&D centre has become a development hub for the groundbreaking Precept road car, as the firm presses ahead with a production car launch in 2024. Design work is ongoing, and at this early stage it is clear that the production car will be marked out by a more steeply raked roofline, physical door handles, more subtly integrated side skirts and a subtly reworked rear end.
Exterior designer Nahum Escobedo explained that “there’s definitely a lot of things we still need to solve”, but emphasised that the design tweaks will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. “From concept to production”, he said, “we are very close to that idea”.
The 5, confirmed for production last year, was closely previewed by the Precept, a one-off originally used as a showcase for the ambitions of Volvo’s sibling brand. It previewed a number of innovative materials with sustainability as a core theme: flax-based composites cut weight by up to 50 per cent and achieve a reduction in plastic weight of up to 80 per cent.
The Precept’s interior also uses materials such as recycled PET bottles, reclaimed fishing nets and recycled cork vinyl.
Polestar’s team will “immediately focus on the development of the Precept”, looking into the challenging engineering solutions as the Swedish manufacturer looks to upscale and mass-produce the various sustainable materials used in the EV.
The brand will also significantly increase in the number of employees at the UK R&D centre at the MIRA Technology Park. The workforce will double to around 500 personnel in the near future, while the centre will continue to work closely with the headquarters in Sweden.
This isn’t the first time that Polestar has expanded abroad. Along with a factory in Chengdu in China, the brand will build the upcoming Polestar 3 SUV, due in 2022, at Volvo’s US factory in Ridgehill in South Carolina.
“Going electric is a pivotal moment in the history of cars,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. “The combination of British engineering talent and Swedish expertise will ensure our cars are among the highest performing and most sustainable on the road.”
Piers Ward