One of the prettiest presences at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed was the Polestar O2 electric convertible concept. When I asked Polestar representatives at their stand whether or not the vehicle was going into production, they were coy about answering, but now a new report does seem to confirm the automaker is really taking it into consideration.
The O2 is a folding hardtop roadster study that is built on a modified version of the bonded aluminum platform that was used in the Polestar 5. It could therefore have just as much power as the 872 hp Polestar 5, although we’re not sure if the show car actually has both motors or how functional it is. Some of the elements (like the rear-view cameras) appear to be placeholders, so there’s a chance the vehicle they had on display was not really drivable.
Gallery: Polestar O2 Concept at Goodwood FoS 2022
Top Gear recently spoke to Polestar boss Thomas Ingenlath who confirmed the company’s intention to turn the O2 into a production model. Among the many points he made about the O2, Ingenlath noted that
My ambition is to make it a production car. But it’s not that easy.
Polestar O2 is the hero car for our brand. It opens the door to our secret chamber of future potential. This is a taste of what we can design and engineer.
He does say that the decision is not final and that the car still needs to sit for a while just so they can make sure it is a good, timeless design. Ingenlath explained that
We have to see where the O2 is going. When you’ve painted a painting, it’s always good to let it rest, and look at it after a couple of months and still see if it’s a good painting.
Ingenlath put more emphasis on the Polestar 5 in the interview, as that vehicle was well on its way to production, expected to debut in 2024. They had both the Precept concept that previews it and an actual functional prototype at Goodwood and the latter actually did several runs up the famous hillclimb stage.
