Polestar 3 electric SUV teased ahead of 2022 reveal

December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 Toby Hagon 4755 Views polestar

Polestar has given another teaser of the new Polestar 3 large SUV that’s due on sale globally in 2022 – but may not make it to Australia until 2023.

It will be the first of three cars – the Polestar 3, 4 and 5 – to be launched over the next three years.

A single image of a camouflaged car in a studio shows a sleek high-riding wagon that borrows some styling cues from the Polestar 2 that is already on sale in Australia.

A rising window line down each side suggests that – like the Polestar 2 fastback hatch – the Polestar 3 will place an emphasis on design over outright space and visibility. While many large SUVs have seven seats, the PS3 is planned only to be made as a five-seater.

Polestar has previously described the 3 as a “luxury aero SUV”, suggesting aerodynamic efficiency is a key design focus.

“Polestar 3 is planned to be launched in 2022 as a premium electric performance SUV that will define the look of SUVs in the electric age,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO.

Zooming in reveals more detail about the car, which is clearly close to design sign-off.

Polestar 3 large SUV with camouflage — The Polestar 3 large SUV planned for 2022 evolves the look of the Polestar 2

There are flush door handles and bold hips over the rear wheel arches. Wing mirrors protrude on stalks, presumably to reduce wind noise and aero drag at speed.

And this particular example is riding on 21-inch Continental tyres.

It also evolves the frontal design treatment that debuted on the Polestar 2, with a slimmer grille and headlights.

The Polestar 3 will ride on parent company Volvo’s new second generation Scalable Product Architecture (SPA2) that will also underpin the replacement versions of the XC60 and XC90, each of which will be EV only.

While SPA2 has been designed for hybrid applications, Volvo says the EV versions will use a skateboard-style platform that allows ideal placement of batteries and motors and helps designers maximise interior space.

The PS3 is also claimed to have more than 600km of WLTP range, well up on the 540km maximum of the longest range version of the Polestar 2.

The Polestar 3 will also eventually be available with what Polestar calls unsupervised Highway Pilot, which allows for full autonomous driving on “certified roads”. That presumably means roads that have been data mapped.

Enabling the next level of semi-autonomous driving will be a Luminar lidar (laser radar) sensor and computing power by electronics giant Nvidia.

Polestar has confirmed it will launch three new models by 2025. The Polestar 3 is due in 2022, the Polestar 4 in 2023 and the Polestar 5 in 2024. — Meet the family: The Polestar 1 and 2 are joined by three promised new arrivals, the 3, 4 and 5

Polestar has previously highlighted the Porsche Cayenne as a key competitor for the PS3, although clearly all manner of electric SUVs will go up against it.

While the PS3 will be produced in the US, Australian cars are expected to be sourced from China – which is where the Polestar 2 and the Tesla Model 3 also come from.

In releasing the latest details on the Polestar 3 Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath took a swipe at the dozens of EV startups that are talking a big game but yet to produce a car.

“We are not a virtual company waiting to build factories and sell cars; we are an actual company already building and selling cars around the world,” he said. “Our two award-winning cars are on the road in 14 markets globally and we expect our global sales volume to reach around 29,000 vehicles this year.”