Electric vehicle (EV) startup Polestar will reveal its third all-electric vehicle on tax day, April 18.
The company has shown little about the Polestar 4, saying only that it “marries the aerodynamics of a coupé with the space of an SUV in a package enhanced by modern technology.”
In automotive design, that language refers to a specific type of vehicle. Many luxury automakers make two SUVs of roughly the same size out of mostly similar parts.
One is usually boxier and more rugged — the sort of thing you probably picture when you think of an SUV.
The other has a more aggressively sloped roofline, trading some interior space for a sportier look. The BMW X5, for instance, looks like the modern inheritor of the classic SUV shape. The BMW X6 is built on the same chassis with the same engine and transmission options, but it looks like the child of the X5 and a low-slung sports car. It trades some space for sex appeal.
The Polestar 4 is likely to have a similar relationship to the Polestar 3 sport utility vehicle. Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath says the new SUV “is not simply a modified version of our first SUV. Instead, we reconsidered the entire design to create a new breed of SUV coupé.”
A teaser photo released with the announcement gives us little to go on, showing only a corner of the hood seen from overhead.
The company also calls the 4 “the fastest Polestar production car to date.” That may mean it has some different parts. It could, however, be a simple matter of programming. EV builders often program power limits into electric motors and can change them with code.
Polestar already sells downloadable horsepower upgrades for its Polestar 2 sedan. The company could likely unlock more power from the components it already builds for the new car.
We’ll bring you more when the vehicle makes its public debut next week at the Shanghai Auto Show.
