Polestar's Formula 2030 concept is a 184-inch, four-door electric sports car that previews the next Polestar 2 (2027) and Polestar 7 (2028), with Dual Blade lights, new taillights and physical buttons.
Photo: Polestar
Polestar has shown the world what its next cars will look like, even if it won't build this one. The Swedish brand today officially revealed the Polestar Formula 2030 concept, a low, wide, four-door electric sports car that Polestar says previews design features of the next-generation Polestar 2 in 2027 and the Polestar 7 compact SUV that follows in 2028.
The name is confirmed: Formula 2030, the same name Polestar gave its company strategy. The car first appeared in a single teaser image on September 7, after a private showing for investors and retailers at Polestar's Gothenburg headquarters. Now the whole car is out, inside and out. Here's what it shows, what will reach production and why American buyers will mostly be watching from the sidelines.
Polestar calls Formula 2030 a "compact practical four-door sports car" and the "physical manifestation" of its Formula 2030 business strategy. It is the first show car designed under Philipp Römers, Polestar's head of design, who came to the brand from Audi.
"It is a physical embodiment of how we apply Polestar's core values of design, performance and sustainability to the next production cars."
— Philipp Römers, Head of Design, PolestarPolestar has not released any powertrain, battery, range or performance figures. This is a design study, and the company has not said it will produce it. Its job is to show where Polestar's styling and cabin layout are headed.
| Formula 2030 concept | Specification |
|---|---|
| Body | Four-door, four-seat electric sports car |
| Length | 4,680 mm (184.3 in) |
| Width | 2,021 mm (79.6 in) |
| Height | 1,350 mm (53.1 in) |
| Wheelbase | 2,780 mm (109.4 in) |
| Wheels | 22-inch center-lock, four-spoke |
| Brakes and dampers | Brembo calipers, Öhlins dampers |
| Screens | 20-inch curved driver display, 12.2-inch center screen |
| Powertrain, range, price | Not announced |
Polestar says the concept sits between the coming Polestar 2 and Polestar 7 in size. By our math it is about 5 inches lower than the outgoing Polestar 2.
The design team kept the brand's best-known features and sharpened the rest. Römers described the goal back in September as "bold evolution not revolution of what came before."
The paint is a new color called Nitrogen, applied tone-on-tone to the body, wheels, cladding, splitter and diffuser. Polestar's "Swedish Gold" shows up on the brake calipers, valve caps, seat belts and cabin trim.
"We wanted to evolve, while respecting, the core design values we demonstrated with previous models that define the Polestar brand in such a recognisable way."
— Nahum Escobedo, Head of Exterior Design, Polestar
The cabin may be the most important part of the concept for future buyers. Like several other automakers lately, Polestar is backing away from putting nearly every function on a touchscreen. The company says it is "committing to rebalance the mix of physical and digital."
"As a performance brand, we see a renewed focus on the driver, and so we re-balance the digital and physical."
— Juan Pablo Bernal, Head of Interior Design, PolestarPolestar's sustainability story continues too. The seat backs use a composite of European flax and bio-based polypropylene. The seat frames and cross-car beam are exposed, low-emission galvanized steel. The door panels use a single recyclable material, and the cargo area shows off a natural-fiber composite from Swiss supplier Bcomp.
Polestar says "various design attributes" from the concept are confirmed for two production cars:
A Polestar 6 roadster is also still on the company's plan. The Formula 2030 made its debut during the media drive for the new Polestar 4 SUV, which Polestar says helped shape the concept's low-slung shape.
Not under current rules. In June, the US Commerce Department declined to give Polestar an authorization under its Connected Vehicle Rule, which restricts automotive technology linked to China. Polestar is majority-owned by China's Geely. As a result, Polestar can't sell 2027 or newer model-year vehicles in the United States. That rules out both the next Polestar 2 and the Polestar 7.
The bottom line: The Formula 2030 is a show car, but a useful one. It tells us the next Polestar 2 will keep the Dual Blade face, lose the full-width taillight bar and bring back real buttons inside. That's a sensible direction for a brand that needs its next two cars to sell well, especially in Europe. The hard part for American fans is that, unless US policy changes, they'll only see these cars in photos.
Related: Polestar 2 production ends after 200,000 cars · A dealer sues over Polestar's US exit · VW ID. Tiguan brings back physical buttons
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