This luxury electric crossover has no rear glass windshield. Here's why

Polestar 4 luxury electric crossover has been revealed in the flesh at the Auto Shanghai 2023 and grabbed everyone's attention with its sleek design and wide range of technology-aided features. Among its stylish design elements, one is the missing rear windshield. Yes, the car doesn't have a glass rear windshield. Instead, the automaker claims that the car's tailgate's body panel extends up to the end of the roof, which is made out of photochromic glass.

When Polestar 4 EV was first showcased in Precepot concept form in 2020, the EV teased this design element. Now, the production model too comes with the same design element. What's further interesting is the car doesn't have a rearview mirror. The EV manufacturer has chosen to equip Polestar 4 with a high-definition screen that shows real-time footage from the rear profile of the car, captured by the roof-mounted camera, which eliminates the need for the conventional rear windshield and the rearview mirrors as well. This display can be deactivated by just pressing a button, so that the driver can see the rear passengers. The EV comes equipped with safety features like nine airbags, 12 cameras, one radar system, and 12 ultrasonic sensors.

Concerning this design philosophy, Polestar claims that the digital feed improves the vehicle's safety, especially during dark environments and at night. Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath has said to Automotive News that this feature comes as an amazing functional improvement to have the back window removed. "At night, you don't just see two tiny dots in the rearview mirror; you see so much more. And you can also look to see your kids back there with the press of a button," he further said.

In terms of size and pricing, the Polestar 4 electric crossover is positioned between the Polestar 2 electric sedan and the larger Polestar 3. The newly unveiled EV is available in both single and dual-motor configurations. The dual-motor variant produces 544 hp of peak power and 686 Nm maximum torque. Also, the single-motor variant produces 272 hp of peak power and 343 Nm torque. It promises to run a 482 km range on a single charge.