2023 Polestar 3 electric SUV revealed ahead of Australian debut

A new view of the upcoming 2023 Polestar 3 electric SUV has been handed down today, along with confirmation that the new model will debut on October 12 in Copenhagen.

Today's new 'teaser' image offers a second new view of the Polestar 3 EV's rear styling, revealing its styling ties with the current Polestar 2 already available in Australia.

The new image (above) follows a photo published in June (below), alongside a similarly revealing shot of the upcoming Polestar 5.

53

Setting the 3's rear styling apart from the Polestar 2 is a tighter, inverted design to the tail lamps, with the full-width lightbar running along the top of the module rather than along the bottom.

The lightbar sits high on the tailgate, beneath a narrow rear glass section and capped by a tapered roofline with an integrated lip spoiler. Aero-assisting panels stand out at each end of the rear bumper.

Polestar says we can expect to see all versions of the 3 EV powered by a rear-biased dual-motor drive system, adding electric torque vectoring through a dual-clutch design at the rear.

53

The front of the Polestar 3 hasn't been shown officially yet, but its own revealing teaser images suggest our render (above) will be close.

Adaptive dual-chamber air suspension and active dampers will also be standard equipment, promising top-shelf ride comfort by adjusting the dampers every two milliseconds.

Like the Polestar 2, the 3 will be offered with an optional Performance Pack, boosting outputs to 380kW and 910Nm.

A special Polestar Engineered chassis tune will also form part of this package, along with gold accents to the seat belts and valve caps, and a laser-etched ambient interior light strip.

Watch for more on the Polestar 3 to come in the days leading up to its October 12 reveal.

Mike Stevens

The story to here

June 7: Polestar 3 SUV revealed in profile view

Kat Fisk

Polestar has released the first full image of its upcoming Polestar 3 SUV, taking the camouflage wrapping off its most crucial model yet.

The Polestar 3 will have its full global reveal in October, when it will become the electric performance brand's first SUV – sharing a platform with the next-generation electric XC90 large SUV from co-owner Volvo.

Production will commence in early 2023 in both China and the United States, with an Australian launch expected sometime in the second half of next year.

It will join the Polestar 2 sedan that was released locally at the start of 2022.

At launch, the Polestar 3 will feature a dual-motor drivetrain and a large battery, with a targeted driving range of more than 600 kilometres (WLTP).

53

Images released today by the Swedish brand show the Polestar 3 – already confirmed for Australia – takes design inspiration from both the Polestar 2 and the Precept concept that will transform into the Polestar 5 production car due in 2025.

Gone is the grid-like ‘grille’ from the 2, instead replaced by a flatter unit with two chrome strips and seemingly more geared towards technology than aesthetics indicated by the presence of a front camera and the words ‘Smart Zone’ and ‘sensor cluster’.

According to the brand, the Polestar 3 will, over time, offer autonomous highway piloting powered by LiDAR sensors from provider Luminar and centralised computing power from artificial intelligence developer NVIDIA.

Cues taken from the Precept include flush-mounted doorhandles (they're conventional on the Polestar 2), Y-shaped 'Thor' headlights, wheel design, and the plastic cladding along the lower doors (though featuring a chrome strip on the 3).

A subtly integrated, body-coloured spoiler overarching the join of the sunroof and tailgate points to some aerodynamic focus by the Polestar 3 development team.

53

There's also a nod to the Volvo XC40 profile, with the upward kick from the rear doors into the C-pillar.

The rear lights blend tail-light treatments from both the 2 and Precept – C-shaped LEDs joined by a light bar and effectively a flipped version of the design on the Polestar 2.

The 3 also takes some front bumper styling from the concept car, with the top where it meets the bonnet featuring several wide openings – possibly hinting at some kind of cooling function.

53

Polestar 3 manufacturing will include a South Carolina facility in North America as well as China, marking the first time the Volvo-Geely co-owned brand has produced vehicles outside of China.

The Polestar 3 is set to compete against the likes of the Porsche Cayenne and also electric SUV rivals including the Audi E-Tron.

Polestar has also confirmed that the new 3 will also use Google's Android Automotive OS, as expected, which will 'feature industry-leading connectivity features.’

53

“Polestar 3 is the SUV for the electric age. Our design identity evolves with this high-end large luxury EV, with a strong, individual brand character,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath.

“With this car, we bring the ‘sport’ back to the SUV, staying true to our performance roots.

“This is a major milestone for our company, one that boosts our growth trajectory and takes us into our next phase.”

Polestar plans to launch a new car every year for the next three years, starting with Polestar 3, and aims to increase its presence to at least 30 global markets by the end of 2023 with a goal of achieving around 290,000 global sales by the end of 2025.

A smaller SUV called the Polestar 4 is expected in 2024.