Update: All sections have been revised to reflect the latest info.
On September 27, 2021, Polestar announced plans to go public with a merger. In the announcement, the company shared teasers, and among the three cars was the Polestar 5 (codename: Polestar P61A).
Almost four years later, the company is preparing to launch its most capable EV at the IAA 2025 (2025 Munich Motor Show) which opens for the media on September 8. Here’s everything we know about the future electric sedan.
Design
The 5 is a highly aerodynamic, four-door GT derived from the Precept concept. Being highly aerodynamic doesn’t mean Polestar will go to extreme lengths and come with something polarizing, though. Polestar had strongly indicated that the Precept is an achievable reality, not a fancy dream or a pure sci-fi imagination. That said, the production version has subtle visual changes.
Polestar appears to have raised the hood’s height, enlarged the lower air intake, and swapped the thin mirrors for conventional ones, and the rear-hinged doors for front-hinged doors. We’re pleasantly surprised that the company has carried over the visibly large wheels that fill the arches.
The nose section houses several sensors needed for the functioning of the ADAS. The Lidar sensor doesn’t stick out of the roof; the designers have achieved neater integration, which couldn’t be said of the Precept concept. Like the Polestar 3, the Polestar 5 will get long-range Lidar sourced from Luminar. Polestar may offer Lidar on its 4-door GT as part of an optional Pilot Pack, just as it does on its first SUV.
Overall, Maximilian Missoni (former Head of Design, Polestar), Nahum Escobedo (Exterior Design Manager, Polestar), and Krister Olofsson (Senior Exterior Studio Engineer, Polestar) have come up with a brilliant design that could shake up the four-door GT segment.
When we got to the Precept, it’s very very close from the sketching of the idea to the concept, and then now from the concept to production (Polestar 5), I think we are very very close to that idea.
Nahum Escobedo, Exterior Design Manager of Polestar, while designing the 5
Interior
Android-based operating system
The Polestar 5 should feature cockpit screens running Android Automotive OS. With AR-HUDs improving significantly, automakers are reducing the size of instrument clusters.
We expect the 5 to have a compact 9-inch display serving as the instrument cluster, and a large 14.5-inch portrait touchscreen in the center of the dashboard. The Polestar Precept concept has already given us an overview of such a cockpit layout.
Materials
With the Polestar 5, the company will likely take new steps for sustainability and alternative materials. It will use recycled fishing nets (Nylon 6) for the car’s floor mats. Another example will be the use of waste and recycled cork-based vinyl for seat bolsters and headrests. Lastly, like in the 3, it may offer bio-attributed MicroTech, animal welfare-certified leather, and fully traceable wool upholstery.
Seating
In the concept version, Polestar showed that individual sport seats were planned for the rear passengers. If offered, the rear sport seats will likely be optional on the Polestar 5, as some luxury car customers still prefer the more practical bench seat.
Autonomous driving features
Expect the Polestar 5 to be a highly software-based, highly hardware-ready car, starting with Level 2 autonomous driving capability.
Detection & Monitoring
Interior sensors will likely ensure the driver doesn’t leave behind children or pets inside, and if they still do, the children or pets remain protected with the climate control system turned on so that they don’t get a heatstroke or hypothermia. Interior cameras should monitor the driver to ensure they are attentive and focused on the road.
Comfort & Infotainment
Panoramic glass roof with illuminated Polestar symbol, one-pedal drive with regenerative braking level adjustment, dual-chamber air suspension with active dampers, three-zone automatic climate control system with an air filter, and 1,610-watt, 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system with Dolby Atmos could be other highlights of the Polestar 5. Software updates would continue improving the functioning of the existing features and introduce new features.
Platform
The 5 will sit on Polestar’s all-new bonded aluminum platform. Commenting on the car’s prototype debut at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 23, 2022, Pete Allen, former head of Polestar’s UK R&D center, and current CTO, had said that this platform brings together the characteristics of a low-volume performance car and modern technological advances to make a lightweight, high-rigidity sports car chassis technology ready for series production.
Chassis stiffness
Citing former CEO Thomas Ingenlath, a report from Autocar published on June 14, 2022, says that this platform will offer “supercar levels” of body stiffness. Developed in-house, it will be lightweight and rigid, focused on performance as well as environmental advantages.
This architecture delivers outstanding dynamic and safety attributes, with low investment technology applicable to high production volumes.
Pete Allen, Head of Polestar UK R&D on the new platform of the Polestar 5
Polestar expects new materials and techniques involved in the manufacturing process of the body-in-white (finished platform and body) to help it keep its weight in check.
Polestar UK chief engineer Dave Kane says that having supercar levels of torsional stiffness is essential for achieving class-leading ride and handling dynamics. Allen says the 5’s body boasts “carbon-fiber levels of torsional stiffness, like a two-door sports model.”
Torsional rigidity
Polestar wants the 5 to have better torsional rigidity than that of a traditional 2-seat sports- or supercar. The bonded aluminum platform is a labor-intensive and difficult-to-use technology, but this team has combated those challenges by coming up with a new, faster manufacturing process that develops the body and platform together, the company said in a press release in February 2022.
Balance of comfort & handling
Vehicle engineering director Steve Swift says the development team is looking for sophistication. According to him, a model that rides and handles well and offers good road noise cancellation will appeal to both those who love spirited driving and those who prefer comfortable driving. He believes the 5 needs to balance engagement with comfort
Specifications
The second half of 2025 will see the planned start of sales of Polestar 5, the performance 4-seat grand-tourer based on Polestar’s in-house developed bonded-aluminium platform. It will also be the first Polestar to use 800-Volt technology.
From Polestar’s UK 2024 annual report
Performance
The Polestar 5 should initially be available in dual-motor AWD variants. The company has announced that it is targeting to produce up to 650 kW (884 hp) and 900 Nm (664 lb-ft).
Charging & Range
Like the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT, the Polestar 5 could be one of the few EVs featuring a two-speed transmission, and it will ride on 21-inch wheels. Polestar is likely to offer it with a ~100 kWh battery pack, both with energy density far better than that of the Polestar 2.
Compatibility for bidirectional charging functions like vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid are a given. It is targeting a range of more than 600 km (373 miles) in the WLTP cycle.
When Polestar tested charging a 77 kWh battery pack of a prototype of the 5, it recorded charging rates of over 370 kW. The company charged it from 10 to 80 percent capacity in only ten minutes, which is truly impressive.
Release Date & Price
Polestar sees the 2, 3, and 4 as high-volume cars. The 5, which debuts at the IAA 2025 as per Autocar UK, will be a niche model carrying the brand’s high-value innovations and elevating its reputation to bring it on par with established German brands.
Polestar 5, our four-door grand tourer developed by our own engineering team, and based on a bonded aluminum platform, is expected to start sales later this year.
Michael Lohscheller, CEO of Polestar, during the company’s Q1 2025 financial results conference call on May 12, 2025
Polestar plans to launch the 5 in 2025, possibly with China as the first market. As for pricing, we expect the Polestar 5 to be priced under £100,000 (USD 134,141) in the UK.
A prototype of the Polestar 5 was spotted in Delaware (via Youtube) a few weeks ago sporting Washington registration plates. We’ll update the U.S. pricing and availability when we have more.
Polestar 5 FAQs
What is the Polestar 5’s release date?
The Polestar 5 is expected to go on sale in the first markets by late 2025.
Which cars will be the Polestar 5’s rivals?
What will be the price of the Polestar 5?
We expect the Polestar 5 to be priced at £90,000-100,000 in the UK.
Featured Image Source: Polestar
International Automotive News Editor since 2014, covering global motor shows, industry events, and test-driving various vehicles, with a focus on hybrid and electric cars in recent years.
