Polestar’s new EV roadster, the O2, is one of those rare examples of when a company pushes the limits of innovation with elegance to thrill. The reimagining of the sports car has become an accepted challenge for EV carmakers. Tesla has been promising its own Roadster for years. But what Musk calls “the fastest car in the world” won't see street lights until at least 2023.
The spirit and appeal of sports cars – low riding, two seats, minimalistic aerodynamic lines, low grip, closed turns and lots of speed – are definitely not being lost as mobility goes green. Porsche, BMW, and Audi have all taken their shot at the EV sports car, and more will keep trying. Honoring the spirit, non-mainstream brands like Rimac present their own ideas of what an EV sports car should feel like.
Polestar is giving Tesla a run for its money with its new O2 roadster concept. It does not just look good, it has impeccable performance and technology. It brings an unprecedented vision to the use of materials and sustainability, and zero emissions from factory to road. Bottom line, no car has ever been built in this way. Polestar is paying very close attention to all details of the car industry, and the result shows.
Aerospace Design On The Road
Polestar has not yet disclosed how fast the O2 will be, its horsepower, torque, nor how far it will go fully charged. But given that the company has turned to aerospace design to give the O2 its particular aerodynamic shape, it can only be expected to drive really fast. Another thing that speaks of the O2’s velocity is its aluminum unibody. The car is a one-bonded piece of special lightweight aluminum alloy.
Sustainability, full cycle, and zero emissions from factory to end of life is a concept that Polestar is leading internationally. It is present in every single component of the new roadster. The aluminum plates are specially labeled to be recycled. Polestar has also changed the way the interior of cars have been made for decades. Instead of using different materials, all the car’s interiors are made from a single source element. The company calls this approach “mono-material”. It is a special recyclable plastic from which the company fabricates everything from the seats to seatbelt. It is a car made to be remade.
Just to make sure the thrill of electric performance is felt by the driver, the O2’s roof retracts into segments and automatically stays concealed in the back of the car. It is a full-speed experience with a no-noise powerful electric engine. In a display of its high tech, the O2 comes with a drone that launches in full drive mode to perform all sorts of autonomous maneuvers while filming the drive. This is the vision of the future Polestar has – “stiff, responsive, and incredibly light”. Most interesting, this EV coming very soon.
Source: Polestar