Polestar is drawing out the debut of the Polestar 5, its upcoming flagship EV, but the company has shown that the Polestar 5 is meant to compete with EVs from Porsche, Lucid and Tesla. At this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, a Polestar 5 prototype took on the hillclimb to show off its capabilities, courtesy of two electric motors making 884 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque.
Yup, after a brief detente, it sure looks like the horsepower wars are back on — but this time, it’s EVs at the front. Notably, it’s not just special editions or demonstration vehicles, like the Ford Electric SuperVan, making outrageously high HP and torque; it’s production vehicles like the Polestar 5, too, which started out as the Precept concept.
The Polestar 5's dual-motor drivetrain and 800-volt battery will reportedly allow the EV to go from 0 to 60 mph in less than four seconds, per Automotive News. And the Polestar 5 also boasts a lightweight bonded aluminum chassis with high rigidity. Polestar hasn’t released full specifications yet, nor did the company say what the EV’s hillclimb times were at Goodwood. We’ll probably have to wait for those specs, since the Polestar 5 won’t be released until 2024.
But it does look like the Polestar 5 is a shot across the bow from Polestar, which is no longer content making sensible EVs, and has now returned to making performance EVs. Really, the Polestar 5 is a reminder that the company has always been a performance electric carmaker. This latest EV, however, outdoes previous models and will do so as a production vehicle.
On the one hand, I’m happy that a four-door GT — a sports sedan of all things — will be Polestar’s next flagship. Not an SUV. Of course, Polestar is planning to release a couple of EV SUV models, the Polestar 3 and 4, but the Polestar 5 will be the car to take on Polestar’s toughest competitors.
On the other hand, this is another flagship EV, an electric halo car with motors spinning its front and rear wheels. There’s no word on pricing yet, but the price will likely reflect the Polestar 5's high output.
Except for one or two models, electric cars are trending in the wrong direction in the U.S., and a flagship EV making almost 900 hp isn’t the best way to scale electric car adoption. I can’t fault Polestar for going after Porsche, Lucid and Tesla, but I do hope Polestar has another sensible EV coming — a cheap and sensible sedan, please. Maybe something to compete with, and undercut the “cheap” Tesla Model 3. If not, I guess there’s always Hyundai and Kia.
