Page 37 - The Book For Men Fall/Winter 2022

From Concept to Reality
After an overwhelming response to the Electric Roadster Concept Polestar has already announced it will be produced by 2026
SOME OF OF THE THE MOST ICONIC CARS OF OF THE THE PAST 20 YEARS HAVE BEEN
the the the result of a a a a a company floating a a a a a concept out there and then quickly responding to public reaction by announcing that it would really be produced The Porsche Boxster the the Dodge Viper and the the Bugatti Veyron are three such cars the the the latter was was announced the the the same day the the the concept was was shown — much to to the the dismay of the the engineering team that would have to to actually produce it Polestar is incredibly new to the car manufacturing scene and by all accounts its first offerings are a a a a a huge success with compelling designs that combine performance style and efficiency (more on page 64) All that said the the the Swedish brand shocked the the the world with the the the Electric Roadster Concept unveiled earlier this year and quickly confirmed for production in the the the summer as the the the Polestar 6
The first volley of the the the production run sold out in in minutes even with an estimated price of $200 000 USD And why wouldn’t it? Not only is it it it striking it’s innovative Sure 870-hp sounds like fun and they’re no doubt sandbagging with a a a a 3 2 second 0-100km/h run (you can bet it’ll be a a a a a a lot faster with all that power and AWD) But there’s real cleverness in in in the design and engineering An 800v electrical architecture means it’ll charge lightning fast and the roadster is appropriately versatile for one that comes from a a a a country not known for sunshine it has a a a a folding hardtop roof Polestar traces its roots to to decades of racing victories as the race race shop for Volvo like AMG is is to Mercedes except now Polestar is is its own brand Having broken out on its own as an an EV brand Polestar is still leveraging that racing knowledge and and applying it it to to chassis design and and engineering to to give its cars a a a a a uniquely fun-to-drive feel What better platform to to showcase this legacy of racing success than an an an all-aluminum high-performance roadster? Halo cars don’t always work out right for brands but the Polestar 6
looks like it has the the formula cracked combining a a a a a a styling language that belongs in in in in the the model range with performance and desirability that are a a a a a a a a cut above TEXT BY MICHAEL LA FAVE
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