Polestar 1 displayed in motion for first time

Volvo’s performance brand, Polestar, showcased its 1 electric sports coupe in motion for the first time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. First revealed at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show as Volvo’s Concept Coupé, the car was reinvented and shown as the Polestar 1 in Shanghai late last year.

The 1's online configurator recently went live and allows visitors to choose from a limited number of options, with exterior paint shades spanning metallic and matt shades of black and grey. Polestar has kept the customisation options for the model close to those shown on the concept.

The first model from the newly spun-off performance hybrid and EV arm of Volvo will cost around €1,55,000 (approximately Rs 1.23 crore) in Europe when it goes on sale in the middle of 2019, although customers will purchase the car through a monthly subscription.

The car spent much of its testing and development time within the Arctic Circle, where its drivetrain, batteries and torque vectoring system were placed under pressure in temperatures that reached -28degC.

The 1 has an all-carbon-fibre body based on a shortened version of the Volvo S90's platform. It will produce 600hp from a front-mounted 2.0-litre turbo engine, plus twin electric motors on the rear axle, and is very much a halo car for the new Volvo performance brand.

According to Polestar boss Thomas Ingenlath, the Polestar will become Volvo’s “technological spearhead” that, after the 1 hits the market, will make only electric performance cars. The company is preparing for an early 2020 launch of the 2 hatchback saloon, which bears a very close relationship to Ingenlath’s Concept 40.2 that has already been seen at motor shows. An SUV, the 3, will arrive after that.