Polestar will introduce its own platform in time for the flagship 5 in 2024.
Polestar is developing its own platform that will be introduced in five hatchbacks in 2024, the automaker said Tuesday.
So far, the Swedish electric performance brand has relied on a donor platform from Volvo, also the parent company of Geely Automobile. The Polestar 1 uses Volvo's SPA platform for midsize cars, while the Polestar 2 uses Volvo's CMA platform for small cars. In both cases, the platforms were originally developed for vehicles with internal combustion engines.
The platform that will debut in the 5 hatchback will be designed specifically for the Polestar. This platform was developed specifically for electric vehicles and will feature a bonded aluminum structure that offers weight and strength advantages over conventional steel. A vehicle with less weight and rigidity means better range and handling.
Thanks to advances in materials and new production methods, Polestar boasts that the 5, a large four-door hatch comparable to high-end versions of the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S, has better torsional rigidity than some two-door sports cars and supercars. At the same time, the automaker says the platform will make the body-in-white (platform and body integrated) weigh less than some cars in the smaller segment.
Bonded aluminum is a manufacturing process usually used only for low-volume exotic cars because it is very labor intensive. Polestar claims to have developed a faster manufacturing process where the platform and body are integrated. The development was led by Polestar's UK engineering center, which is made up of engineers who previously worked for Formula 1 teams and exotic car brands. [Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement, "The UK R&D team is one of Polestar's greatest assets.
"Their mix of engineering and technical expertise allows us to develop advanced lightweight sports car technology with a spirit of creative thinking and an openness to innovative engineering."
The Polestar 5 is the production version of Polestar's 2020 Precept concept car. The teaser suggests that the design is very similar to the concept, minus wild elements such as rear opening coach doors.
The 5 will go on sale in 2024, but Polestar plans to unveil two more models before then. One is the 3, a mid-size SUV that will debut later this year and will be the sibling of Volvo's planned successor to the XC90. The other is the 4, a compact crossover scheduled to arrive in 2023, which will likely be a sibling of Volvo's C40 Recharge.