A new horsepower war is brewing among automakers, and this time the number of cylinders is not a factor. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England last week, Polestar, aiming directly at Porsche, fired the latest shot with a sleek, 884-hp four-door GT — the Polestar 5.
When it arrives in 2024, the dual-motor, 800-volt battery-powered sport sedan will be a direct competitor to the Porsche Taycan, the aging Tesla Model S and Lucid, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles.
“Polestar 5 is a company-defining project. Its progressive design and advanced engineering set the tone for Polestar’s future,” Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said. “We have great talent on board enabling us to create truly iconic EVs.”
A camouflaged Polestar 5 was driven up Goodwood Hill twice daily during the festival, the first time the nearly complete car has been shown in public.
While no performance figures were given, the Polestar 5 promises to be a lightning-fast EV. Engineers have created a lightweight bonded aluminum chassis for it. When combined with the 884-hp drivetrain, the performance sedan should see 0-to-60-mph times well under four seconds. The fastest Lucid Air makes it to 60 in 2.6 seconds, same as the Taycan.
“The new powertrain we are working on will set a new brand benchmark in our high-performing cars,” said Jörg Brandscheid, Polestar’s chief technology officer and head of R&D. “Combining strong electric motor engineering ability with advances in lightweight platform technology is leading to truly stunning driver’s cars.”
Polestar is launching one new EV per year for the next three years.