POLESTAR FUTURE LAID BARE

Our exclusive interviews with Polestar's CEO and design supremo reveal how the brand is approaching its second-generation 2, and its future use of shared tech

- Paul Barker [e-mail]

THE Polestar 2 is set for a complete reinvention in 2027 as a more sporty saloon packing plenty of performance and a new design language.

The new 2 will kick off Polestar's second chapter, being the brand's first replacement model and also the first shaped by CEO Michael Lohscheller and new design chief Philipp Römers.

It will tread a fine line between evolution and revolution. "The Polestar 2 is a very successful car," said Lohscheller, previously the boss of Opel-Vauxhall. "We have [more than] 180,000 cars on the road, sol don't think we will have a revolution.

The basic role of this [new car] is to keep those customers, but of course we're thinking about improvements [in battery tech and range]." Don't go thinking the next 2 will be a facsimile of the current car, though.

Polestar poached new design chief Römers from the Volkswagen Group, where he designed the Audi e-tron GT and Volkswagen Golf Mk7, cars with handsome proportions.

Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Römers said the 2's stance is set to change dramatically. The current car is a jacked-up notchback peppered with SUV-style cladding, elements we expect to be diluted on the replacement car. We asked Römers directly if the ride height would be lower and he answered intriguingly: "The new design language, the strong evolution we are doing, it would change a few things. But today's design is a good car, as you know." The teaser (below) issued last week looks closer to the ground, so we can expect a sportier saloon that's significantly longer too, as confirmed by Lohscheller and previewed here by our exclusive image. Today's car is just over 4.6m-long: a 100mm stretch would make it the same length as today's BMW 3 Series.