Polestar Precept is Volvo’s Luxe Electric Concept powered by Google
Asautomotive brands prepare for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, or plan to follow the current trend and skip it altogether, Volvo’s luxury marqueunveiled a new all-electric concept vehicle a week aheadof time during alive video broadcast on Tuesday.
Details remain scarce about thePolestar Precept,but released renderingsindicatea very low and sleek silhouette with an emphasis on leg- and headroom in the rear. The four-door, fully electric grand tourer looks like a cross between a sport wagon and large touring sedan—and a possible contender against the front-running Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S. The press willget an in-person lookduring the company’s press conference at noon, March 3 in Geneva; the show is open to the public starting March 7.
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75 kWh
396 km
1969.0 cc
Multiple
Like all concepts,thePrecept is meant to present “a vision of the company’s future vehicle aspirations," which apparently means more smart screens, less dumb mirrors.Camera units set on an aerodynamic arm replace sidemirrors; a digital screen with a camera feed replaces the traditional rear-view mirror. There’s also a15-inch center touch screen and12.5-inch driver display at the front of the vehicle.
Running it all will benovel human-machine interface technology developed in close collaboration with Google and built fortheirAndroid platform.Key to the new system is “eye-tracking," which can sensewhere the driver is looking at any given time and adjustthe different in-car displays accordingly. The other component is “screen proximity," which means that when the screen senses that a hand is coming toward it, it becomes brighter, displays more information, and enlarges buttons and sliders. With the Precept, Polestar seems to be addressing the problems of distracted driving rather than diminishing the act of driving itself with autonomous systems.
The Preceptconcept was built mostly in Sweden witha 10.2-foot wheelbase and a largebattery pack underneath it.The front grille, which in conventional cars channels air to radiators and the engine,has beenreplaced with driver assistance systems and safety sensors such as two radars and a high-definition camera.The typical rearwindow has been eliminated altogether, allowingthe glass roof toextend beyond the rear seats down to the tailgate.
The interior dispenseswith the wood/leather/chrome treatment of today’sluxury cars. Instead, high-techflax-based composites on interior panels and seat backs save50%in weight (more range!) and use 80% less plastic (less shame!)than conventional materials. The seat surfaces are3D-knitted from recycledbottles; the bolsters and headrests aremade from recycled cork vinyl; thecarpets are made from reclaimed fishing nets. You could imagine Greta Thunbergdriving one away with a smile.
Polestar launched in 2017 with the Polestar 1, a 609-horsepowerhybrid with an electric-only range of 124 km (77 miles), the longest of any hybrid car in the world. In Feb. 2019, the company’s Polestar 2, a fully electric luxury fastback, was announced with pricing targeted at the bestselling Tesla Model 3. Anelectric SUV called the Polestar 3 is expected in 2021.
