“Something interesting is happening on the west coast of Sweden,” Polestar’s Instagram post reads. Something very interesting. This week, in separate Instagram posts, Koenigsegg and Polestar posted images of their models side by side with some teaser-like captions and a hashtag: #KoenigseggXPolestar.
What it means exactly isn’t clear, but the two posts and some background research do reveal a few clues.
Polestar shared a slightly different view of the two vehicles.Photo courtesy of Instagram, Polestar
The first thing that’s apparent from the photos is that the two cars are the Koenigsegg Gemera and and the Polestar Precept concept.
Koenigsegg Gemera
The Koenigsegg Gemera is the company’s first four-seater car. Christian von Koeingsegg, the automaker’s CEO, calls the model a “Mega GT” because it, “is a completely new category of car where extreme megacer meets spacious interior and ultimate environmental consciousness.” According to a release put out when the car was new, the model is the culmination of 25 years of work.
Initial indications are that the car is big on power and can outperform the typical two-seater. It has 127 megawatts of power 3500 Nm of torque helping it get from zero to 62 mph inn use 1.9 seconds. It can run up to 400 kmh. The powertrains uses three electric motors combined with a twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter three-cylinder engine. Koeningsegg calls this engine the Tiny Friendly Giant, or TFG for short.
There’s rear- and all-wheel steering.
Koenigsegg Gemera is company’s first four-seater
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Koeingsegg says that the car can seat four adults and carry-on luggage. It has four heated and chilled cup holders, front and rear seat infotainment displays, four reading lights, memory foam heated seats, power seats, tri-zone climate control, exterior and interior cameras, and front and rear wireless phone chargers.
Polestar Precept concept
Polestar debuted the Precept concept at the height of the coronavirus pandemic so you might have missed it. The model showcases, “sophisticated, high-tech minimalism that redefines beauty for the sustainable age,” says Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar.
Starting with the front of the car, the Precept has a new take on Volvo’s signature Thor’s hammer headlights with sold body structure separating headlights and fog lamps. In place of a grille, traditionally designed for cooling internal combustion engines, is the “smart zone”, a gathering place for technology. This is similar to what is found in the Nissan Ariya Concept. This zone, says Ingenlath, causes the car to “go from breathing to seeing.”
“Strength and endurance” define the exterior aesthetics of the Precept, according to Ingenlath, who also says that the, “skin of the Polestar Precept radiates power without posing.”
Polestar preaches sustainability as a distraction during social isolation, debuts Precept
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Leather, wood, and chrome are left behind in favor of high-tech solutions. The interior of the Precept features materials woven from flax, like that behind the model in the video. The interior door panels feature the material, which is 50-percent lighter than traditional inserts and contains 80-percent less plastic. Its seats feature a 3D knit material that is made of 100-percent recycled yarn that has its origins with PET bottles and that is cut from a single thread to exactly to fit the seats with no waste.
The car can also act like Big Brother, wanring the driver and slowing the vehicle down if its technology detects that the driver isn’t looking at the road enough. Similar technology (including frequent beeping alerts) is already available on the Subaru Outback and Forester.
Between the driver and passenger is a 15.5-inch touch screen interface has Google’s Android system running in the background and features a clean aesthetic in fitting with the design of the car. It is on this screen that Ingenlath suggests watching streaming services as your car sits at the charging station refueling.
If certain auto journalists had their way, this collaboration would probably result in a production-ready shooting brake with an exterior and powertrain designed by Koenigsegg and an interior designed by Polestar, showcasing their eye toward sustainability. Hey, it could happen. Until we know what’s going on for sure, anything is possible, isn’t it?
