Polestar's Upcoming Roadster Will Take Cues From the Porsche 911

You won’t read about it on any automaker’s website or sales materials, but nearly every major car company buys and studies its competitors’ products. Spy photographers sometimes catch companies like Ford benchmarking a Chevy Camaro or new Silverado pickup truck to gain insights into how they compare to a Mustang or F-150. Electric vehicles have democratized performance and speed, making them more accessible across a broader range of cars, so it’s not surprising to see Polestar testing a Porsche 911 to prepare for its own sports car launch in 2026.

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QOTD: Does The Market Not Trust EVs?

One of my VerticalScope colleagues pointed out to me that Polestar's stock has taken a dive. This is a bit odd if you believe that Polestar is one of the EV companies that is having some success as EVs move more and more into the mainstream, as some believe.

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2021 Volvo XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered Review: A Hot Hatch for the PTA President?

There’s a meme floating around, as memes do, with little localized variants. The one I see here in my little slice of Ohio reads something like: “Treat yourself like Interstate 70. Never stop working on yourself, no matter how much it inconveniences others.” Like most humor, there’s a bit of truth there – it always seems as of I-70 west of Columbus stretching at least to Indianapolis is in a constant state of either construction or in need of construction.

It was here on the pockmarked slab west of town I found myself driving on a brisk Sunday morn in the 2021 Volvo XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered, hoping to experience the floaty-but-controlled ride I knew from my old 740 wagon and other spawn of Gothenburg. Not here. That Polestar Engineered badge adds a serious dash of sporting intent to the midsized crossover – a car already quick from three, count ‘em three, power adders to the ubiquitous two-liter four.

Really, this crossover has the feel of a buttoned-down hot hatch. How does it work, as the Brits like to say, on the school run?

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Volvo Announces IPO, Polestar Does SPAC Merger

Volvo Cars has confirmed months of speculation by announcing that it’s planning to go public on NASDAQ Stockholm. On Monday, the automaker stated that it would be seeking to raise 25 billion Swedish kronor (nearly $2.9 billion USD) via the selling of new shares as a way to fast-track its electrification plans. Those include ensuring half its annual volume being represented by EVs and transitioning the majority of its sales stemming from online orders by 2025.

While the targeted IPO valuation is unknown, prior information coming from Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Volvo’s Chinese parent company) suggested it was aiming for something in the neighborhood of $20 billion. We’ve also learned that the collaboratively owned Polestar would also be going public, except it will be using the always sketchy special-purpose-acquisition-company merger to help pump the stock.

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Polestar Announces Electric SUV Will Be Made in America

Volvo-owned Polestar has announced that its upcoming “performance SUV” will be manufactured within the United States, starting late in 2022. The model will be assembled alongside other Volvo products at the Swedish company’s facility in South Carolina. It also provides an opportunity for Chinese parent Zhejiang Geely Holdings to make meaningful moves on the North American marketplace and less ammunition for critics to reference the EV-focused Polestar as a foreign brand.

“Polestar 3 will be built in America, for our American customers,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. “I remember the great response when I first shared Polestar’s vision here in the USA and I am proud that our first SUV will be manufactured in South Carolina. From now on, the USA is no longer an export market but a home market.”

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Polestar's Precept Concept: New Details Provided, Questions Left Unanswered

Polestar has released details of its Precept concept, offering a reminder that this will be the vehicle that informs all future models the company produces. Jointly owned by Volvo Cars and Zhejiang Geely Holding, Polestar has morphed from the Swedish manufacturer’s partner in performance engineering into a separate brand specializing in sporting EVs.

We’ve seen the Precept before, bashing it gently in February for being a handsome sedan with a manufacturer that wasted everyone’s time (and its press release) by prattling on endlessly about green tech and sustainability. While we had hoped Polestar would remedy this in its follow-up teaser, powertrain details remain nonexistent. Considering this is a concept car, that’s not an unforgivable sin, but it’s curious a company supposedly focused on performance engineering has twice failed to discuss that aspect of the vehicle. Instead, we’re offered additional details about the model’s design — including some new photographs — as the brand continues to discuss sustainability and high-tech features.

Just enough to keep us interested. The bare minimum.

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Almost for Normies: Polestar 2 Enters Production As Other Automakers Go Dark

Now fully an automotive brand, Polestar aims to attract more than just a limited number of hugely wealthy customers. That was Polestar 1. Now it’s time for Polestar 2, a more affordable, four-door electric sedan with sporting prowess and eco-consciousness in spades.

How did Polestar pull off the unusual feat of starting production of a new model when assembly lines across the globe are going dark amid the coronavirus pandemic? Because production is occurring in China, the country that birthed the virus, then left it on its neighbors’ doorsteps.

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Polestar Precept Concept Lands, Previews Future Models

While many are still under the impression that Chinese automakers will never manage to wrangle the North American automotive market, Geely’s ownership of Volvo Cars and Polestar has already proven them wrong. The Chinese manufacturer purchased Volvo in 2010, with savory bodywork and sumptuous interiors doing much of the heavy lifting with consumers. Performance-focused Polestar wasn’t purchased until a few years later, but the theme remained largely the same — move toward electrification, don’t forget about safety, and try to build the sexiest car possible while maintaining an aura of respectability.

So far, it’s worked rather well. Polestar is now eager to drive that message home via its new Precept concept vehicle. The company claims the car reveals “a vision of the brand’s future direction and a clear expression of intent.” Since we’re fluent in marketing speak, we’re pleased to tell you that sentence is not entirely meaningless.

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Polestar 2 Debut: China's Response to the Tesla Model 3

Polestar, Volvo’s former performance division (which parent company Geely insisted be spun off as its own electric car brand), announced its second automobile on Wednesday. Whereas the Polestar 1 was a 600-horsepower hybrid coupe, Polestar 2 adds a set of rear doors and does away with internal combustion altogether.

For all the “Tesla fighters” out there, this one comes the closest to giving the Model 3 a run for its money. With a targeted range of 275 miles, accomplished via a 78-kilowatt-hour battery pack structurally integrated into the vehicle’s floor, Polestar 2’s in the sweet spot for range. But it also happens to be the correct shape (five-door fastback) and price to ensure its gets stuck in Elon Musk’s tastefully shorn hair.

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Polestar Releases First Details of Upcoming All-electric Model

Polestar, the performance-oriented luxury brand created by Volvo’s Chinese parent company Geely, already has a 2-door hybrid sports car coming down the pipe later this year — the Polestar 1. However, the company is already teasing a follow-up sedan that aims to remove the internal-combustion component entirely and take on the likes of Tesla’s Model 3.

Dubbed the Polestar 2, the model will be a four-door fastback built on a modular platform with a battery pack intended to deliver roughly 300 miles of range on a single charge. While that sounds competitive, Volvo has previously indicated the Polestar 2 might start around $50,000. That’s not a far cry from the Model 3’s current starting MSRP of $44,000 ($46,000 until a few days ago), though Tesla promises a base version in the neighborhood of $35,000 later this year.

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Push It: Volvo's Got a Solution for Owners Wanting a Livelier Rear End

If only all automakers had what Volvo’s offering. Starting this month, buyers wishing for more of a sports car experience from their all-wheel drive, non-hybrid Volvo can hack some more attitude into it. On Wednesday, the Swedish automaker announced the availability of new software developed by its Polestar performance division that should do the trick.

Job One for this software? Send more torque to the rear wheels.

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The Polestar Engineered Volvo S60 T8 Will Be Extremely Rare in America

We’d like to apologize if our articles previewing the Volvo S60 T8 Polestar Engineered got you excited about the American-made model because you probably won’t get to lay your greasy little hands on one.

Volvo previously stated that the special sedans would only be available in extremely limited quantities. We assumed that meant the manufacturer would probably only build a couple hundred per year at most. As it turns out, that number was a gross overestimate. However, even if you are fortunate enough to have one in your garage, you still won’t be able to own it.

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2019 Volvo S60: Sharp, Swedish Styling Made in America

Volvo unveiled its third-generation, 2019 Volvo S60 today and I keep having the same thought — this is what the Buick Century could have evolved into if General Motors played its cards right. That’s not a dig on the tri-shield brand, the Regal is a fine automobile, but the S60 is a car worth getting excited about.

Strange, as the car isn’t really all that new. The XC60 and V60 have been around for a little while and Volvo’s sedan seems to be more of the same. But there are some key differences to go with the welcome similarities (the wagon obviously has the most in common with the S60), and there’s more to the automobile than just good looks and desirable specifications. The S60 represents Volvo’s first American-made car, built at its new $1.1 billion plant near Charleston, South Carolina. It’s also the first Volvo model to forego a diesel option.

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Volvo's 'Polestar Engineered' Performance Variants Arrive Next Year

In order to create a bit of added buzz around the debut of the new Volvo S60, scheduled for next week, the automaker teased images of a performance variant wearing the Polestar emblem. The upcoming sports sedan will be the first Volvo manufactured within the United States. It will also be one of the first models touched by the “Polestar Engineered” performance package, along with the XC60 crossover and V60 wagon.

While Polestar remains its own brand, Volvo plans to continue using the name to denote sporting versions that include some form of electrification. On this batch, that means the only engines receiving special treatment are the T8 Twin-Engine Plug-in Hybrids. The treatment includes upgraded brakes, suspension, and powertrain — resulting in a trim positioned above the R-Design in terms of performance, price, and desirability.

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QOTD: Student Becomes the Instructor?

There are two good examples in the automotive sphere of the student ascending to stand alongside the teacher. AMG, once the in-house skunkworks at Mercedes-Benz that breathed (sometimes psychotic levels of) additional performance into mainstream cars is on a quest to become a full-line maker all of its own. Now, we learn of Polestar’s aspirations in a similar wheelhouse.

Here is today’s question: what other trim line (performance or otherwise) do you think deserves a shot on the big stage?

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  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?