Polestar 3 debuts on October 12, new angle teased

The slow burn for the Polestar 3 continues with a few more details and a launch date. In June, the Swedish performance offshoot let loose specs for the UK version, it appears those specs will be shared with at least one of the the American versions. Polestar said every model at launch will come with a 111-kWh battery, 107-kWh of which is usable, sending juice to a rear-biased dual-motor powertrain featuring a clutch system on the rear axle providing torque vectoring, and an adaptive air suspension with dual-chamber shocks. Shoppers that upgrade to the Performance Pack will get motors making a combined 517 horsepower and 671 pound-feet of torque, sent to the tarmac through a suspension additionally tuned by Polestar Engineered. Autocar reported the range for this model will be an estimated 348 miles. 

The mag also reported there will be a lower-spec, Polestar 3 Long Range that makes 489 hp. It's not clear when this will make it to our market. The Polestar 2 is sold in a couple of outputs, we'd expect that to be the case with the 3. A Polestar 2 with its 78-kWh battery and Performance Pack makes 476 hp and 503 lb-ft. The peppier Polestar 2 is said to run from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds. Autocar reported the larger, heavier Polestar 3 could be a hair slower, but not far off, keeping it in line with its self-styled Porsche Cayenne competition. 

This is the first Polestar to switch to the SPA2 platform shared with the coming Volvo EX90 crossover, and the first Polestar to be built in Volvo's South Carolina plant. The architecture's been designed with the next phase of Volvo's autonomous driving capability in mind, meaning 360-degree environmental awareness from an array of sensors managed by Nvidia chips. Like Ford's BlueCruise and GM's Ultra Cruise, we anticipate hands-free driving on roads Volvo has cleared.

It's believed ordering will open on the same day as the debut, but production won't commence until later this year or early next. Pricing for the lineup should range from around $63,000 to $93,000, but figure the launch versions will touch the upper end of that, as is the custom. The reveal happens October 12 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Polestar will livestream the event starting at 1 p.m. Eastern in the U.S. at this YouTube channel.