Polestar O2 EV concept hints at bold future design

LOS ANGELES -- Swedish electric car maker Polestar teased an expansion of its premium performance lineup with a swoopy roadster concept.

The Polestar O2, revealed Tuesday on the rooftop of a Beverley Hills office building, is a hardtop convertible that reflects the brand's next-generation design aesthetic and features a new aluminum platform.

"The concept combines our ambitions for sustainability and circularity with a stunning emotional design," Polestar design boss Maximilian Missoni told Automotive News Europe sister publication Automotive News on the sidelines of a presentation here. "This really shows where we're heading from a design language."

The O2 concept sits low and wide and features short front and rear overhangs, a compact 2+2 cabin design and a long wheelbase. Polestar said its sports-car design template will differentiate the performance brand from its more mainstream parent, Volvo Cars.

Missoni described the O2 as a "meeting point between technology and art, between precision and sculpture."

But Polestar's latest concept isn't just a fanciful indulgence for the brand's designers. It is "not so far away from reality," the Austrian-born designer said.

Rather than build "cool spaceship"-like concepts, Missoni said Polestar develops designs people can imagine themselves driving.

"I want this applied art feeling," he said. "It's an amazing piece of design, but I could drive it tomorrow."

The O2 concept offers a peek into Polestar's ambitious product roadmap, which includes two crossovers and a large sedan expected by late 2024. The brand's near-term focus is on bringing those models to market, brand CEO Thomas Ingenlath said.

But the O2 "is driving energy into the team," Ingenlath said. "It enables us to portray what the Polestar brand can be in the future."

The O2 concept is an example of form following function.

Aerodynamics are maximized through disguised design features, like integrated ducts that improve airflow over the wheels and body sides, and rear lights that function as air blades to reduce turbulence behind the car.

The concept features a modern spin on Volvo's signature Thor's Hammer headlight.

"With all these new brands popping up, it's a challenge to develop a design that looks good and works on different car types," Missoni said.

The O2 concept sits on a new bonded aluminum platform that will debut on the large Polestar 5 electric sedan that arrives in the next couple of years. Developed in-house by Polestar's R&D team in the UK, the platform delivers a stiffer chassis, enabling tight body control, high rigidity, and improved driving dynamics. the company said.

"It's quite a moonshot project," Missoni said.

Whereas Volvo built its brand on vehicle safety, Polestar sees sustainability as its brand differentiator. The company is developing a carbon-neutral car by 2030 -- a process that will require a rethink of how Polestar's zero-emissions vehicles are built and transported from the factory to customer driveways.

The intent is to cut CO2 emissions from "cradle to grave," Missoni said.

The O2 concept showcases a new "thermoplastic mono-material" used extensively in the interior. In the roadster, recycled polyester is the sole material used for all the soft components of the interior. This simplifies recycling, while also reducing weight and waste, Polestar said.

"We're trying to combine the experience and the joy of driving with sustainability," Missoni said. "It comes with some constraints in design -- when you keep recycling, the colors get darker. "

The O2 concept also features a made-for-Instagram technology: The concept showcased an autonomous drone, integrated behind the rear seats, that can be deployed while the car is moving to record drives — and the presumably thrilled expressions of its occupants.

Engineers developed a special aerofoil that raises behind the rear seats to create a calm area of negative pressure that allows the drone to take off when the car is on the move. The drone operates autonomously, automatically following the car at speeds up to 56 mph.

After filming, the drone autonomously returns to the car. Video clips can be edited and shared directly from the 15-inch center display when the car is parked.

"We wanted to emphasize the experience you can have with a car like the Polestar O2 in new and unusual ways," Missoni said. "Not needing to stop and off-load the drone before filming, but rather deploying it at speed, is a key benefit to this innovative design."