Polestar 1 – use of carbon-fibre saves up to 230 kg!

The upcoming Polestar 1’s extensive use of carbon-fibre has been detailed, with the Swedish plug-in hybrid sports car said to use carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) for most body parts, potentially contributing to a weight saving of 230 kg!

According to CarAdvice, CFRP will be used to make the bonnet, boot lid, side panels, doors and the entire roof structure. The ‘dragonfly’ component sitting between the middle of the floor and the rear construction will also be made from the same lightweight material. CFRP is lighter, but stronger than steel.

Polestar’s head of product creation, Christian Samson said, “when you combine this strengthened framework with the super-strong body and roof structure, you get a stiff and communicative chassis which translates driver input into superb driving characteristics.” The 1 will also get a panoramic roof featuring a huge glasshouse. With CFRP, the glass panels will help create a “truly panoramic view.”

To recap, the Polestar 1 that was unveiled last October will be equipped with an ‘Electric Performance Hybrid’ drivetrain, featuring a Drive-E 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine that drives the front wheels, plus a 46 hp/150 Nm integrated starter generator (ISG). Two electric motors making 109 hp each will be tasked to drive the rear wheels, and the motors will draw power from three battery packs totalling 34 kWh. Torque vectoring is present as well.

Its total output is 600 hp and 1,000 Nm of torque, but exactly how quickly it will sprint from zero to 100 km/h remains unknown (word is it’ll be under 4.0 seconds) for now. However, Polestar did say the 1 is capable of travelling up to 150 km on pure electric power alone. The launch model sits on 21-inch wheels with 275/30 tyres shod up front and wider 295/30 for the rear.

Production of the car will take place at the purpose-built Polestar Production Centre in Chengdu, China. The company has already started taking pre-orders for the car, the price of which is projected to start around 130,000 euros (RM600k). The 1 will make its ‘dynamic debut’ at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed that’s scheduled to take place from July 12 to 15.

Following the 1, Polestar will begin work on the 2, which will be the first battery-electric vehicle (BEV) from the Volvo Car Group. Production of the 2 will start in 2019, where it will be exported to other markets to rival the Tesla Model 3. After that is the Polestar 3 pure-electric SUV, to up against the Tesla Model X. A total of five fully electric Polestars or Volvo-branded vehicles will be launched between 2019 and 2021.

GALLERY: Polestar 1

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