Prices start at £89,500 for the 737bhp Dual Motor model, for which you get an 800V electrical architecture, four-wheel drive, a 0-62mph time of 3.8sec and 421 miles of WLTP-rated range. Above that sits the Performance with 871bhp, a 0-62mph time of 3.1sec and 346 miles of range. Both cars use a slim, 112kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery, an in-house-developed rear motor capable of 600bhp or so and another motor from ZF on the front axle. An RWD variant is potentially in the works, though its purpose would be to lower the entry cost to the range, rather than to be a driver-centric special.
Neither model features rear-wheel steering, active anti-roll bars or air springs – common currency in modern super-saloon circles. In fact, the Dual Motor version uses passive dampers; you need to spend £15,000 or so more on the Performance to have three-mode magnetorheological technology. With perfect weight distribution, a low centre of gravity and the geometries for the double-wishbone suspension devised for the 5 and the 5 alone, Polestar says hefty additional technologies were surplus to requirements.
Whether a car some 5.1 metres in length, weighing in at exactly 2500kg and with a truly alarming turn of pace might have benefited from some of those chassis toys is something we will get to – but before that, the cabin.
Courtesy of the 5 having a wheelbase only 5% shorter than that of a BMW 7 Series, this is a vast, limousine-like space with rear leg room notably better than what you will find in a Porsche Taycan. Neither the hulking depth of the shell backs for the impressive front seats nor the controversial lack of a rear window can diminish the sense of space – or light, which floods in through the full-length glass roof. The beltline and scuttle are also well drawn, the 5 ensconcing its occupants in traditional GT style without feeling intimidating from behind the neat steering wheel, which can be positioned just so for most drivers.