Polestar may not be extremely well known to South African car fans. It was once the name of Volvo’s de facto tuning arm, but it has since evolved into a pure electric sub-brand of the Swedish car manufacturer. The company has a few products in its portfolio such as the Polestar 2. Sadly, none are available here. This week the small-scale automaker unveiled the Polestar O2 to show what it is capable of.

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“Polestar O2 is the hero car for our brand,” comments Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. “It opens the door to our secret chamber of future potential. 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.”

Possibilities

The pure electric performance car brand has reimagined the sports roadsters for the electric age. Polestar O2 takes the shape of a sporty two-seater with a folding hard-top with all the benefits of electric mobility.

Maximilian Missoni, Polestar’s head of design, says: “Polestar O2 is our vision of a new era for sports cars. By mixing the joy of open-top driving with the purity of electric mobility, it unlocks a new mix of emotions in a car. But as with all our cars, we are about more than just straight-line sprints. It’s when you turn the steering wheel that the true fun begins.”

To enhance the dynamic experience, the Polestar O2 is based on a bespoke bonded aluminium platform developed in-house by Polestar’s R&D team. The light and tight platform allow handling dynamics that are taut and controlled. In addition, the suspension is set up with small roll angles and high roll damping. Unusually, the press material makes no mention of a powertrain, even a conceptual form of motivation.

Look at me

The least of the innovations of the Polestar O2 is a cinematic drone. Integrated behind the rear seats is the autonomous flying camera. Check it out in the video below. The driver can deploy the concept drone while the car is moving. It operates autonomously, automatically following the car at speeds up to 90 km/h. After filming, the drone autonomously returns to the car. Video clips can be edited and shared directly from the 15-inch centre display when the car is parked.

“We wanted to emphasise the experience you can have with a car like the Polestar O2 in new and unusual ways,” says Maximilian 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.”

Polestar O2 in action