Polestar's new Precept concept car is a look at the future of the electrified automaker's plans. The concept car, which debuted today, uses sustainable materials inside, uses more advanced interfaces inside, and the company's CEO calls it "a declaration, a vision of what Polestar stands for and what makes the brand relevant."
The Precept starts with suitably futuristic concept car styling, which the company calls minimalistic athleticism, though it's tough to classify anything with wheels this massive as minimalistic. Athletic? Definitely. It has a long 3.1-metre wheelbase that Polestar says means room for a large battery pack down low and between the widely spaced wheels. It allows for the low and sleek silhouette, but the automaker says it still has "an emphasis on leg and headroom in the rear."
"The car is a response to the clear challenges our society and industry face. This is not a dream of a distant future, Polestar Precept previews future vehicles and shows how we will apply innovation to minimize our environmental impact," says Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath.
Inside, the Precept uses a host of sustainable and recycled materials to try to lessen the car's environmental footprint. That starts with seat surfaces 3D-knitted from recycled plastic bottles. The bolsters and headrests from the seats are made from recycled cork and the carpets are made from a material that comes from reclaimed fishing nets, an effort to reduce ocean plastics. Other interior panels are made from a new flax-based composite from Swiss firm Bcomp that offer a 50 percent weight savings and 80 percent reduction of plastic waste.
Polestar has worked with Google to develop an all-new interface and infotainment system. The automaker said that it found the current in-car experience lacking, especially when it came to the "pale shadows" of apps in your car versus their in-phone counterparts. And that "the less said about speech recognition, the better." Polestar says the new Google Assistant will evolve to be more helpful, with advanced speech tech that will allow more languages, more accents, and a more personalized experience. The system will also track your eye movement to adjust the information displays to you, so you'll only get the important info when you need it. New gesture sensing technology will brighten the screen as you reach toward it, enlarging buttons and sliders to make it easier to use on the move. The new systems will work on a massive 15.0-inch center display and a 12.5-inch digital dash.
The Polestar Precept concept will be on display at the Geneva International Motor Show next month. Powertrain details weren't given, other than that this latest would be an EV.
