Electric SUV coupé sets sights on premium rivals in 268bhp and 537bhp forms
The fourth car from Sino-Swedish brand Polestar has been revealed as “the reinvention of the SUV coupé” and will enter the premium crossover segment to take on the Porsche Macan.
Arriving, notably, without a rear window, the Polestar 4 joins the recently unveiled Polestar 3 SUV as the firm’s first bespoke offerings, in contrast to the Volvo-based design roots of its first two models, the 1 and 2.
Like the £78,900 Polestar 3, the rakish, electric-powered 4 is positioned as a premium model to rival the likes of Porsche, BMW and Genesis. As such, it will command a price of between £50,000 and £65,000, depending on whether a single- or dual-motor powertrain is chosen.
A focus on maximum range has shaped the design, according to head of Polestar design Maximilian Missoni. This is due to the positioning of the header rail, which most cars have and is sited around the rear roof area to add rigidity and strength to the vehicle’s structure.
The rail’s position is pivotal: lower it too much to ensure a slippery vehicle and the rail impedes head room, but keep it high for more interior space and it impacts performance by affecting aerodynamics.
Polestar’s solution for the 4, which is based on Volvo/ Polestar’s largely aluminium PMA platform, is to both lower the header and move it behind the rear passengers’ heads. Doing so sites the header rail where the rear window would normally be, so a roof-mounted camera now aids rear visibility in lieu of the rear glass. The 4’s drag coefficient is a slippery 0.269. The Tesla Model S’s, for comparison, is 0.208.
Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath, formerly design head at Volvo, has been an influencing factor in how the 4 looks. Ingenlath joked that more conservative car makers would still be gauging reaction to the idea at customer clinics. “You are not a design leader if you have to go out and clinic,” he said.
