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Volvo's all-electric spinoff brand, Polestar, has revealed what may be its most crucial car, the Polestar 2. We've already seen the dramatic Polestar 1, a plug-in hybrid coupe with 600hp and the glowering good looks you'd expect from a car that's basically an S90 Coupe.
The Polestar 2, though, has a much tougher job ahead of it. It has to take on big-selling rivals such as the Tesla Model 3, the upcoming Volkswagen I.D., and the long-range versions of Nissan's hugely popular Leaf.
It'll cost around €39,990 in its most basic form (that's a German market price, so it'll probably a little more on the Irish market, once our higher vehicle taxes are taken into account, but that's TBC), but for the first 12 months Polestar is going to concentrate on building only high-spec models, with a guide price of €59,900.
The Polestar 2 will have good range - the company claims that from its 78kWh battery, it will be able to put more than 500km between charge-ups - but it remains to be seen if that will be good enough to justify its lofty price tag. It will have the performance, though. The Polestar 2's twin electric motors generate a combined 408hp, which translates into a 0-100km/h time of less than five seconds. There's a whopping 660Nm of torque on tap too.
It should be quiet, too. Polestar claims that the chassis design, into which the battery is fully integrated, makes the car 3db quieter than if it had a conventional platform. It will also handle, or at least it ought to with optional Öhlins-designed suspension dampers, 20-inch wheels, and an upgraded brake package.
Visually, the bodystyle is close to that of the upcoming new Volvo V40 hatchback and S40 saloon, but there are some unique Polestar-specific styling details, including gold-coloured seatbelts, brake calipers, and tyre valve caps.
Inside, unsurprisingly, the cabin takes a great deal of inspiration from existing Volvo models, but the vast, upright 'Sensus' touchscreen is bigger than we've previously seen it (it now spans 11 inches), and appears to be more free-floating, mounted more in front of the dashboard than on top of it. The operating system has been designed in collaboration with Google's Android system, which means that Google apps, including the Google Assistant, Google Maps with support for electric vehicles and the Google Play Store, are already embedded into the car's infotainment system.
The Polestar 2 won't have a key, but will instead rely on using the owners' smartphone to unlock, start, and lock, and that will allow for future autonomous services, such as automated parking and courier delivery systems.
Polestar won't have the 2 available to just walk in and buy in a conventional dealership. Instead, the brand will concentrate on online sales, along with city-centre and shopping-centre boutique stores.
"Polestar 2 is our first fully electric car and first volume model. Everything about it has been designed and engineered with passion and dedication. As an electric performance brand, and through the forthcoming launch of a portfolio of fully electric cars, Polestar is determined to address the world's air quality challenges. Polestar delivers electric performance cars that are great to own and drive," says Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar.
The Polestar 2 will get its public debut at next week's Geneva motor show, and will go on sale in 2020.