Unleash the beasts: Polestar plots performance cars and a concept under new design boss
Design is the least of Polestar’s troubles but it’s changing under ex-Audi designer Philipp Römers
Polestar will unveil a concept car and more ‘Beast’ performance models in the run up to the Polestar 7 SUV, as new head of design Philipp Römers stamps his vision on the company’s design.
Römers, who worked on the Audi e-tron GT’s exterior during 25 years at Volkswagen Group, outlined his vision in an exclusive interview with Auto Express. “The reason I quit the Audi job and took on the Polestar challenge is because becoming [studio] head of a design-driven company is very cool.”
He admits he’s joined during “tough times” – Polestar lost more than $1 billion during the first six months of the year – but sales also rose to 30,289, and the flagship Polestar 5 sport GT is now entering the market. “From Polestar 5 on, I can start from scratch to develop the cars of the future. We are in the middle of the storm, executing.”
The Chinese-owned, European-based EV start-up is a commercial minnow but its acclaimed design has become a lighthouse the industry watches closely. Polestar’s mix of clean surfaces and eye-catching graphics atop athletic cars with interesting silhouettes forged the high-riding Polestar 2 saloon, 3 SUV and 4 coupe-SUV.
So how radical will he be? “When I started I thought about whether to do a revolution or an evolution. Polestar is a young brand and its awareness still has to be lifted. So it would really be a mistake to make a revolution, to do something completely different.”
The Polestar range is available through the Auto Express Buy A Car service. You can get a new Polestar 4 from around £60,000 or a new Polestar 2 from around £45,000, with savings of around £2,000 on either car.
Philipp Römers’ vision: Polestar 7 details
The Polestar 7 – a compact crossover arriving in early 2028 – is set to be Römers’ first all-new Polestar. A teaser image of the car under a cloth hints at a sleek, low-roofed SUV with flared wheelarches and “dual-blade” lighting.
“The main architecture and the appearance will be a little more dynamic, to express performance,” explains the German-born designer. “I would like our cars to be as attractive and muscular as possible.”
He thinks some Polestars look quite vertical – perhaps thinking of the 3 SUV’s pinched rear, the 5’s downturned rear lamps or the range’s deep bodysides – something Römers is keen to address with more horizontal elements. Lines could circumnavigate the car, accentuating the width and melding the sides with the ends.
To him, Polestars are all about “characterful details: no traditional grille, dual blade-lighting and the Polestar 3’s bridge”, the raised section across the nose which channels air onto the bonnet to smooth its flow. “You can imagine [we’ll] do something striking yet very Polestar,” he hints.
“[The 7 is] targeting a segment where we can gain growth. The Polestar 5 is our halo car but it won't sell in huge numbers. To become more profitable we need more compact cars as well. But when you buy this smaller car, you also buy a piece of the brand, a piece of the Polestar 5.”
Römers has a good track record in compact cars: the chiseled, timeless Golf Mk7 is one of his exteriors, working alongside current VW design boss Andy Mindt. “I’m still proud of that car: it looks good, has a proper stance and expresses VW values,” he says.
How will Polestar cabins evolve?
Polestar cabins are distinctive, with clean, elongated planes often trimmed in neutral, natural materials. “It’s a benchmark that’s been copied everywhere in the industry. But [our value] of performance also gives me the chance to evolve this,” outlines the design boss.
Römers leans across the table in our Munich meeting room to share his inspiration board. Expect a welcome injection of colour – “we’ll do it in a Scandinavian way which fits the brand, but we’ll be more emotional with interior and exterior colours” – interior architecture that cocoons occupants, a touchscreen pivoted towards the driver and more physical switches.
Other projects: a Polestar concept and more ‘Beast’ editions
Römers says he has some ideas to fill the void between now and the Polestar 7, with the open-top 6 pushed back to prioritise the SUV and 2 replacement. “I’m dreaming of a show car, obviously. As a design-driven company, from time-to-time we need to reveal some show cars,” he admits. A concept could be unveiled as early as 2026.
The head of design also namechecks the Polestar 2 BST – nicknamed the ‘Beast’ – from 2021, which was upgraded with a maximum attack bodykit, beefier brakes, a 30mm drop on coilover suspension and dual-motor power cranked up to 469bhp. It was sold as a 230-unit limited run.
“I like the Polestar 2 a lot, I like compact sporty cars.” He continues: “The 2 was available in Beast trim once. This is inspiration for the future: it has character, looks sporty and drives fantastically.”
Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller also mentioned the Beast in Munich: “People want special things, [to] stand out a little bit. That’s exactly what the Polestar 2 Beast did,” he said.
So don’t be surprised if the Polestar 2 gets another makeover to keep it news-worthy until the new-generation arrives – or the R&D team applies the philosophy to the new 5. This Porsche Taycan rival, packing up to 871bhp for a 3.2-second 0-62mph sprint, presents another obvious opportunity for a beastly makeover.
Will Polestar’s brand values change?
Polestar’s CEO before Lohscheller was acclaimed ex-VW designer Thomas Ingenlath, who worked alongside head of design Max Missoni, recently poached by BMW. “I think design is what Polestar is really about,” elaborates his replacement Römers, who reckons design literacy is embedded across the company.
Ingenlath established Polestar using three building blocks: design, performance and sustainability. And Römers, who joined the Gothenburg design studio in January, immediately began immersing himself in those brand values and how they translate into the cars. None of them will change but he wants to exaggerate one in particular.
“Performance: we have to emphasise it more in the future, [including] in the design. Polestar 5 already fits into this next chapter of Polestar, because it’s our performance halo car.”
Philipp Römers on his design philosophy and current trends
What is his design philosophy, honed at Volkswagen and Audi? “Good design has to embody a brand’s values. I'm so happy that we have a clear value set that has to be expressed. Then cars [must] have a certain character, and look good and attractive.”
“I wasn’t involved in the Polestar 5’s design but it’s characterful, good-looking and [resembles] the Polestar 4. And it's not just screaming for attention. The car industry is losing its design quality.”
By that Römers means that much of car design is coalescing into similar bodystyles and executions, with many brands losing their distinctiveness so using motifs that shout for attention.
"I think there’s currently a trend to have cleaner designs, maybe even influenced by China. In [recent] years, this very clean, even soapy design was quite well appreciated and [has] now influenced the whole car industry. I think Scandinavian design is, at its heart, minimal and clean, so it’s fitting to our brand. Then you have to add things, to create character. I think we will find a good balance.”
Are rear light bars and faired-in rear windows design sacred cows?
Current Polestars all have a rear light bar but it’s a device that’s become so overused it’s lapsing into cliché: will Römers abandon it? “We have some other ideas,” he muses.
And the Polestar 4 and 5 share a distinctive design cue, a faired-in rear ‘window’, rather than glass. Will that be carried forward?
“I would say it depends on the segment. It really makes sense on [low] cars or coupes, [not so much] on an SUV with huge glass surfaces. Take the e-tron GT: the back window is really just a slot. On such cars it could be a good idea to get rid of it and save some weight.”
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