A history of Polestar: The story behind the innovative electric car brand

What's the story behind Polestar, the performance division of popular Swedish brand Volvo?

“We need to make brave decisions and stand by them.” – Tom Ingenlath.

The words of the Polestar CEO have never rung truer. Polestar have recently emerged from relative obscurity to become an innovative electric car brand, with their Polestar 2, Polestar 3, and Polestar 4 models - and more on the way.

But who are they? 

Where did they come from, and what are they doing to take the electric car market by storm?

The EV market is no stranger to innovation, with Tesla having led the pack for some time. But other manufacturers, big and small, are beginning to catch up.

And though Polestar is a newer face in the EV game, they’ve been a successful automotive company for quite some time.

Origin of Polestar

In a past life, Polestar was a racing team.

Swedish champion Jan ‘Flash’ Nilsson headed up the company – then known as Flash Engineering – and under his leadership, the company enjoyed success, racing purpose-built Volvos to victory in the 1996 Swedish Touring Car Championship.

Using Volvo’s as the base for their own vehicles, Flash Engineering leaped from strength to strength, securing over 100 wins in the space of a decade.

In 2005, Nilsson sold the company to Christian Dahl, who renamed it Polestar Racing.

Polestar Racing was known for being innovative and forward-thinking, and this was never more apparent than when they dabbled their hand in road cars.

Concept cars

Do you know which car won the Swedish Touring Car Championship 2009? 

None other than a Volvo C30.

Capitalising on this success, Polestar went on to design and produce a road car based on the C30. It was a good racing hatchback, but Polestar knew they could do better.

And so came the C30 Polestar Concept – an outlandish road car capable of 405bhp, with a 0-60mph time of 4.6 seconds, powered by an all-wheel-drive system, and accompanied by a brutal soundtrack.

It was little more than a marketing effort at that point, a chance for Polestar to separate themselves from Volvo and show the world what they could do.

It got everyone talking and reminiscing about the 850Rs that had competed in the British Touring Car Championship, propelling Polestar firmly onto the international market as a serious contender.

And they’ve stayed there ever since.

Their successes then led to the first public release of the S60 model in 2013. Polestar, wanting to test the waters to see if there was a chance they could ever launch their own road vehicles globally, only built 100.

The public response was encouraging.

2014 came with the release of both the V60 Polestar and the Volvo V60 (facelift) into 8 different markets. It was Polestar’s first global debut, and the launch paid off.

Volvo, seeing the public success that Polestar was enjoying, bought the performance division of the company in 2015.

Their aim? To use Polestar’s knowledge to improve their own performance division.

The Polestar racing team stayed under the guidance of Dahl, though he renamed the company – this time giving them the moniker Cyan Racing.

Polestar and Volvo

Polestar has enjoyed a connection with Volvo since its very beginning, with Volvo vehicles providing the base for Polestar to build on and improve.

But when the performance division of Polestar belonged to Volvo, under the guidance of Geely, the Swedish manufacturer had big plans to use Polestar to perfect the driving experience offered by their cars.

With their customers always at the forefront of their innovations, Polestar and Volvo sought to balance performance and control for the ideal experience.

And reader, they succeeded.

Together, Polestar and Volvo created cars that were balanced, safe, and reliable.

Cars that people really wanted to drive.

Performance upgrades to Volvo models resulted in fine-tuning for more powerful engines, smoother gear changing, better control, and improved reliability.

Polestar says that they’re never finished, and always want to strive for the next step, a philosophy that shows through in their own cars.

Polestar’s lineup

Polestar is being positioned as a separate performance brand by parent company Geely.

While the racing division has enjoyed success over the years with its touring cars, Polestar Performance builds limited edition performance Volvos. Its latest models showcase Polestar's step into the electric vehicle market.

Polestar 1

Polestar 1 was unveiled back in 2017, and for a first attempt at an electric hybrid, it was very well received.

The stylish looks of the Polestar 1 were beaten only by its performance. It’s capable of traveling 77 miles on electric-only power, which is up there with some of the highest electric ranges for hybrids, and had the longest range of any hybrid at the time of release.

Though it does share features with the ever-popular Volvo S60, the Polestar 1 is its own beast.

It helps that it’s also a stunning car: all carbon fibre sloping lines, and a panoramic glass roof. It looks like a car from the future – fitting for the Polestar brand.

Production of the Polestar 1 ceased in 2022, as Polestar was starting their journey to become a fully electric brand.

A limited-edition Polestar 1, the Polestar 1 BST edition 270 was released in 2022, with bespoke matte gold paint, matching brake callipers, black wheels, and gold stitching in the interior. 

A fitting finale of the Polestar 1 to come to an end for the boundary-pushing, award-winning vehicle.

Polestar 2

And in good orderly fashion, the Polestar 2 was launched in 2019. The brand’s first fully electric car.

As usual for Polestar, it's designed for maximum performance and safety – while not compromising on style.

The 82kWh battery powers two electric motors – one at each axle – and the system produces 416bhp, and up to 469bhp with the performance pack.

It has a claimed WLTP Comb range of up to 370 miles, the ability to hit 62mph in 4.3 seconds, and a top speed of 127mph.

Not bad for Polestar’s first electric vehicle.

Polestar 3

You may not be shocked to hear this, but Polestar's next vehicle was named the Polestar 3.

Released in late 2023, an all-electric SUV, which was another first for Polestar.

And they've 'upped the ante' once again, with a WLTP Comb range of up to a cracking 438 miles on a single charge. The 111kWh battery comes in dual or single motor variants, with up to 510bhp for the performance pack.

This big family-sized SUV can still get from 0 to 60mph in under five seconds with the dual motor setup. But a launch like that may need to be exercised without the family on board for safety.

Polestar 4

Any guesses for Polestar’s next model brought out in 2024? The Polestar 4, of course.

An all-electric coupe-style SUV, seeing as Polestar’s now solely an EV car manufacturer after the end of the Polestar 1.

The 100kWh battery powers the single and dual motor versions. Both versions have similar ranges, with the single motor WLTP Comb range being up to 385 miles with 268bhp, while the dual motor reaches a WLTP Comb range of up to 367 miles with a whopping 536bhp.

The long-range dual motor outperforms the single motor version in all areas apart from range, reaching 0 to 60mph in 3.7 seconds compared to 6.9 seconds for the single motor.

Plenty of punch under the bonnet, and there's no sign of Polestar slowing down anytime soon.

The future of Polestar

Polestar’s future is shaping up to be a bright one.

They’ve become a fully electric brand, with all future cars building on their electric vehicle expertise.

Their next release is rumoured to be a four-door coupe, set to be released later in 2025 – the Polestar 5 (keeping the lineup names simple; we love that).

The environment continues to be a huge driving force for the company, with Polestar aiming to create efficient performance vehicles that look as good as they drive.

What’s certain is that Polestar is set to go far, and they’ll never be content to sit on their laurels.