The Polestar 1 is your new luxury car designed in Sweden and built in China.
First shown in 2017, the carbon fiber-bodied, 600-horsepower plug-in hybrid coupe is finally in production, with the first customer examples rolling off the line at Polestar's newly constructed plant in Chengdu, China. Deliveries will commence later this year.
Polestar 1
Polestar is a performance marque spun off from Volvo. It plans to follow up the Polestar 1 with the battery-electric Polestar 2 compact sedan in early 2020 and in 2022 we should see a battery-electric Polestar 3 SUV. The Polestar 2 will be built at a Volvo plant in Luqiao, China.
Polestar's own plant was designed by Swedish architect Snohetta and features a customer experience center complete with a viewing deck that provides a panoramic view over the factory floor. Outside, there is also a test track.
Polestar plant in Chengdu, China
Because of the car's complex carbon fiber body, Polestar will only build the Polestar 1 at the rate of 500 cars per year. A total of 1,500 units over three years is planned, though the automaker is willing to increase this based on demand. Build slots are still available and pricing starts from $155,000.
The Polestar 1 utilizes the SPA modular platform used in the larger models of Volvo. Its plug-in hybrid powertrain consists of an inline-4 with supercharging and turbocharging mounted at the front, and an electric motor at the rear. Peak output from both power sources is 600 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, and a sizeable battery will help deliver 93 miles of electric range. EPA-rated range will likely be lower, though.
