Polestar O2 concept showcases electric convertible sports car – with its own drone
Polestar has evolved its Precept concept by unveiling its boldest show car yet, the Polestar O2, a car the Swedish-based brand says “opens the door to our secret chamber of future potential”.
It even comes with its own built-in “cinematic autonomous drone”.
The EV offshoot of Volvo that recently went on sale in Australia has created the radical two-door all-electric sports car as a “vision of open-top performance and a thrilling driving experience – with all the benefits of electric mobility”.
The Polestar O2 is effectively a sports car adaptation of the Precept concept that is currently being readied for production. However, instead of a high-performance luxury sedan designed to take on the Tesla Model S, Lucid Air and upcoming EVs from traditional brands, the O2 has a 2+2 layout and only two doors.
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It’s the pinnacle of an onslaught of new models from Polestar as it looks to muscle in on the EV space dominated by Tesla and ride an electric car wave sweeping through the automotive industry.
For the Polestar O2 the emphasis is clearly on the design, with no details of what lies beneath the skin – except that it’s powered by batteries and electric motors.
“Polestar O2 is the hero car for our brand,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath
“This is a taste of what we can design and engineer with the talent and technology we have in-house. It looks incredible, and being able to lower the roof and not hear an engine promises a superb sensation.”
Performance is clearly a focus, although as with the Polestar 2 that recently went on sale there’s also an emphasis on cornering dynamics.
“As with all our cars, we are about more than just straight-line sprints,” said Polestar head of design Maximilian Missoni. “It’s when you turn the steering wheel that the true fun begins.”
Polestar has worked on engineering body strength as part of that dynamic focus, the O2 riding on a bonded aluminium platform.
There’s also a focus on aerodynamics to maximise the EV range – which has not been disclosed – including things such as rear LED lights that act as an air blade to separate the wind flow, as well as side vents to smooth the air flow down the side of the vehicle.
Inside, there’s an emphasis on sustainable and recycled materials as part of Polestar’s environmental focus. Recycled polyester is used for everything from the foam to the fibres, something the company says “simplifies recycling”. There’s also a new thermoplastic “mono-material” chosen for sustainability.
Plus, there’s a drone that sits behind the rear seats. It’s designed to fly alongside the car “to record the perfect driving sequence”; it certainly takes the concept of dashcams to the next level!
The “cinematic autonomous drone” can follow the car up to 90km/h and has different modes depending on what sort of footage the driver wants to capture.
“We wanted to emphasise the experience you can have with a car like the Polestar O2 in new and unusual ways,” said designer Missoni.
“Integrating an autonomous cinematic drone was something that allowed us to push the boundaries on the innovation front. 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.”
For now the Polestar O2 is officially a one-off concept car designed to draw attention to the brand, but Ingenlath has told overseas media that while the emphasis is on bringing the Polestar 3, 4 and 5 to market over the next three years, the company will do all it can to bring the O2 sports car to production.
“What is beyond 2025, the future will tell,” Ingenlath was quoted as saying. “We definitely put out a dream here and we would be very irresponsible if we would not do everything possible to actually live our dreams and make them real.”
