The Polestar 1 has a chassis made from carbon and inspired by bugs
The new hybrid grand tourer from Volvo's speed merchants promises to be real stiff and light-ish.
So, the Polestar 1 has been on people's radar for awhile now, and we've been ooh-ing and ahh-ing all over its gorgeous body and 600 horsepower hybrid drivetrain but one thing that we haven't heard much about, or more appropriately, seen much of is its unique chassis construction. Spoiler alert: It uses a bunch of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) -- which is cool -- but it also uses a chassis design that Polestar engineers are saying was inspired by a dragonfly.
So the Polestar 1 is more a high-powered grand tourer in the vein of an Aston Martin DB11 than an outright sports car like a Porsche 911, but it's still gotta handle and that dragonfly chassis will help its cause significantly here thanks to the added structural and torsional rigidity that its unique design imparts in what is usually the floppiest part of the chassis, the middle. The dragonfly (and a great deal of the rest of the car) being made from CFRP means that not only is the structure rigid, but it's also light too.
While it doesn't have a full carbon tub like a supercar, the Polestar 1 makes abundant use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic for increased strength and stiffness.
Light weight is vital in a car that needs to perform, particularly if you're going to whack a great big battery pack somewhere in it. Saving weight elsewhere becomes a priority, and CFRP is a great way to do that without going to something totally crazy expensive and exotic like pre-preg carbon fiber that needs to be autoclaved or vibranium from Wakanda.
"Carbon fiber is crucial in meeting our design, engineering and performance goals with the Polestar 1," said Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer at Polestar. "The result is a beautiful, technological package that remains faithful to the original design with its elegant and low silhouette. It looks as good as it is to drive!"
A carbon fiber body helps keep the Polestar 1 relatively trim despite its hybrid drivetrain.
The body of the Polestar 1 is carbon fiber as well, which combined with all the chassis CFRP means that the car is more than 500 pounds lighter than it would be if it were made out of high-strength steel. Plus, saying your car has a carbon fiber body feels cooler, right?
Anyway, not only is the Polestar 1 fast and pretty, it's also high tech and kind of light-ish? Not bad for a $155,000 Volvo . Sign us up for a drive.