Polestar to hit U.S. showrooms next month

The Swedish electrified performance startup Polestar is on the cusp of launching in the U.S. market.

The Volvo affiliate will begin U.S. deliveries of its first mainstream model, the Polestar 2, in early September. The 408-hp electric fastback boasts a 275-mile range and takes a leap in connectivity with the first use in a production vehicle of Google's new Android Automotive for its infotainment system.

Polestar has declined to reveal its sales targets for the year but said more than half of its 2020 U.S. vehicle allotment has been spoken for.

The Polestar 2 is not the brand's first model. The automaker made its debut this year with a $155,000 halo car — a 619-hp plug-in hybrid coupe. The Polestar 1 is a low-volume vehicle, with only 1,500 to be produced over the next three years. The first-year allocation for the U.S. is already sold.

Polestar 1: The coupe, based on the Volvo Concept Coupe, is clad in carbon fiber. The advanced material reduces bodyweight and improves torsional rigidity by 45 percent, the automaker said. The carbon fiber also made it possible to create crisper lines and sharper creases.

The 2020 Polestar 1 uses a double electric rear axle to enable torque vectoring and is powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged and supercharged engine. The PHEV has a 93-mile electric-only range.

Polestar 2: The battery-electric fastback, inspired by the Volvo 40.2 concept, is powered by a 78-kWh battery.

The car is based on Polestar's compact modular platform, the same platform that underpins the Volvo XC40 crossover. The 2021 Polestar 2 debuts Google's Android Automotive for its infotainment system.

Polestar 3: The Porsche Cayenne-size cross- over coupe will debut the next generation of Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture platform. Production will begin in late 2021, with U.S. deliveries starting by mid-2022.

Performance sedan: There is some discussion of Polestar introducing a performance sedan. But it's unclear whether that project has been greenlighted.

Compact crossover: Polestar could develop a Porsche Macan-size crossover, but that has not been approved for development.