Polestar rolls out final prototypes from Chengdu plant

It’s almost, yet not quite production time for the Polestar 1, which was unveiled last year, and boasts output figures of 600 hp and 1,000 Nm of torque from its Electric Performance Hybrid powertrain which comprises a Drive-E 2.0 litre engine with an integrated starter-generator (ISG) and two 109 hp electric motors on the rear axle.

Manufacture of the Polestar 1 takes place in the new, bespoke Polestar Production Centre in Chengdu, China which is currently producing tooling try-out (TT) cars as final prototypes, before its moves on to pre-production examples and finally, customer production units.

The tooling try-out cars, which currently number around 50 units, according to Polestar, are being used to fine-tune production methods and for the evaluation of tooling implementation before customer car production commences, it said. Meanwhile, the Polestar Production Centre itself is in its final stages of completion, and set for inauguration later this year.

“Now we enable our loyal customers to secure their final specification for their car, knowing that we are going to give them an awesome GT that is built to the highest levels of quality, fit and finish,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. The company has already started taking orders for the car, with 7,000 expressions of interest registered even before the order books opened.

The Polestar 1 is based on Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) which also underpins the Swedish brand’s 90 series models such as the XC90, S90 and V90, though in Polestar applications thisis considerably revised. Much of its interior architecture is derived from the S90 though the two-door can accommodate up to four occupants in a 2+2 layout.

It’s a very straightforward naming convention for the Polestar model range – after the Polestar 1 will be the Polestar 2, which will be the first battery-electric vehicle (BEV) from the Volvo Car Group aimed at the likes of the Tesla Model 3. The Polestar 3 SUV is to follow, a larger version that will compete with the Model X.

GALLERY: Polestar 1