The Polestar Precept Is A Very Environmentally Friendly Concept

The Polestar brand became an independent identity from Volvo in 2017 and this is its first all-new concept car since then. Its name is actually a wordplay on the term of ‘concept car’ as the Polestar Precept is said to be a declaration of the brand’s values: pure, progressive and performance.

Polestar is an all-electric brand so the Precept is, of course, an EV. It features a very minimalistic design with sporty characteristics and the shape of a four-door GT coupe. The 3.1m wheelbase allows for enough room to house a large battery pack in the floor. The Precept’s front bumper is home to an array of sensors for safety and driver assistance technology since it doesn’t need any grille that would be required on a combustion engine vehicle. Behind the transparent panel lie two radar sensors and a high definition camera. It also has a LIDAR pod mounted on top of the Precept’s glass roof. The Thor’s Hammer LED headlights remain a shared signature design between Polestar and Volvo.

The Precept’s aero package includes a front wing integrated into the bonnet design and vertical aero wings around the rear connected by a light blade that spans the entire width of the car. All of it allows the car to cut through the air with ease which helps increase the electric range. The ORVMs are replaced by cameras for displays placed either end of the dashboard. It doesn’t have a rear windscreen and the glass roof extends all the way behind the rear headrests.

Inside the Precept is where things get a bit eco-mental. A lot of the interiors are made from sustainable materials to reduce environmental impact. The panels and seatbacks are made from Bcomp’s flax-based composites that can reduce plastic waste from typical materials by up to 80 per cent while also being up to 50 per cent lighter. The seat surfaces are 3D-knitted from recycled PET bottles while the bolsters and headrests are made from recycled cork vinyl. Meanwhile, the carpets are made from reclaimed fishing nets.

The tech systems inside the cabin are elegantly simplistic. It has a 12.5-inch driver display and a portrait-oriented 15-inch central touchscreen for the infotainment system. The instrument panel also hosts a bunch of sensors for a ‘personalised and dynamic digital interface’. It has eye-tracking which will adjust the content on the screens according to the driver’s gaze while proximity sensors are said to enhance the usability of the central display while driving.

Maximilian Missoni, head of Design at Polestar, says: “Polestar Precept’s aesthetics are rooted in cutting-edge technology rather than looking back in time at historical, automotive references. At Polestar we see technology as an enabler, as a tool to solve our society’s problems and we translated this attitude into a new set of design principles. The combination of sustainable materials and high-tech smart systems opens an entirely new chapter of avant-garde luxury design and shows where Polestar is heading.”

The Polestar Precept is one of those clever cars that are easy to overlook for their pleasing simplicity. I’m glad I didn’t. Share your thoughts on the Precept in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe to The Auto Loons for more cool updates from the car world.