Polestar's Rumoured First Model Will Take Aim At Acura NSX

Polestar, the high-performance division recently split off from its Volvo parent, may be ready to present a 600-hp coupe on the way that looks set to take on the Acura NSX.

A report by the UK's Autocar magazine suggests that a coupe "featuring a high carbon-fibre content and a powertrain with around 600 hp" is to be the separate Polestar brand's first model.

Autocar is uncharacteristically vague about its prediction, but we're choosing to give them the benefit of the doubt, for two reasons: First, the newly spawned stand-alone Polestar brand is putting electrification at the core of its operations; and second, Volvo's parent, Geely of China, is dumping all kinds of money into the Swedish brand, if the recent onslaught of new and redesigned models (S90; V90; XC60) is any indication. A flagship hybrid supercar to rival the 2017 Acura NSX would be a cool, high-profile way to demonstrate that Volvo is once again a viable car manufacturer.

Less likely is Autocar's contention this new sports coupe will make its debut at the Frankfurt auto show in September: if that were the case, we have a hard time believing we wouldn't have heard details leaked before now. The 600-hp claim is another stretch: Volvo's T8 PHEV powertrain makes as much as 421 hp in the new XC60, but a nearly 50 per cent boost in output would require a much bigger electric motor, not to mention a lot more electricity to back it up.

While Polestar is now a separate brand whose cars won't wear Volvo badges, said Autocar, the newly free-standing marque will "enjoy specific technological and engineering synergies with Volvo Cars and benefit ... from economies of scale (that will) allow it to ... build world-beating electrified high-performance cars," according to a statement issued at the recent Polestar announcement. Volvo may currently specialized in sedans, wagons and crossovers, but there's nothing saying the platform underpinning a future S60 couldn't also support a hot coupe.