Introduction – Polestar Formula 2030 concept

It seems these days that every carmaker and their mum is either designing for the Chinese market, or harking back to their heritage, reviving models and designs of yore to tug on the heartstrings of modern motorists. Not Polestar.

Instead, Polestar is only looking forwards to what it might become in the future. In that spirit, the team led by new(ish) design boss Philipp Römers has created the Polestar Formula 2030, and I think it’s brilliant. 

Of course, Polestar has only been around since 2017 and after completely splitting from Volvo, it doesn’t really have much heritage to look back on. Nevertheless, its latest design is very refreshing indeed.

Practicality and boot space

Despite its sports car-like proportions, the Formula 2030 manages to cram four doors and four individual seats between its wheels. 

The boot itself features a strange transparent floor with bespoke luggage that's been tied down with gold coloured straps, a bit like what you might see with the seatbelts in Polestars that have been kitted out with the Performance pack.

As for the boot lid, it opens to reveal not just the boot itself, but structural components surrounding it. The door opens upwards as one big clamshell, taking with it most of the rear quarter panels. 

We weren’t able to show this off in person as none of the doors could actually open, but that’s what it’s meant to do. Trust me, bro.

It's a nice little nod to the original Polestar 1, which showed off some of its electronics underneath clear plexiglas in the boot. 

There’s also a very generous frunk on offer, we didn’t get to see that in person either, but if the pictures are to be believed, there’s enough space for two racing helmets and a fire extinguisher under there. 

Plus, a sneaky peek at the Öhlins dampers and the golden strut bar.

Interior, styling and technology 

Styling is the strongest bit of the Formula 2030, it’s absolutely gorgeous! Polestar has taken the best bits of its current stable and mish-mashed them all into this one corker of a concept with a dash of some forward thinking design elements. 

At the front end, the Formula 2030 features a front spoiler, neatly integrated into a bonnet that’s very reminiscent of the similar arrangement on the current Polestar 3. 

The sloping, low-slung bonnet and bumper remind me quite fondly of the Polestar 5 too.

There are also brand new lights up front, continuing the split Thor’s hammer theme, but integrating that spoiler into the housings for the main beams. Better yet, Polestar says that this front end forms the basis of the upcoming new Polestar 2. 

The old one recently stopped production in anticipation of the new 2's arrival at some point in the first half of 2027. On this evidence I'm quite excited to see what's in store. 

The overall silhouette has been heavily inspired by the estate-esque shape of the Polestar 4 SUV but has been shrunken down to a sports car footprint, truncating the rear doors to turn an estate into more of a shooting brake. It's all very dynamic, but practical. Very Swedish. 

The back end? Well that’s supposed to form the inspiration for the upcoming Polestar 7. Gone is the rear light bar, and in its place two separate tail light clusters joined together by a black accent bar that separates the boot door from the bumper.

There’s a seriously chunky diffuser here too, I don’t think anything this large and sticky-outy will make it to production, but I hope we see something similar.

As for the interior, I wasn’t allowed to get inside (the doors still don’t open) but there was absolutely no tint on the windows whatsoever so here’s what I could see.

First and foremost, Polestar has broken the current interior trend of passenger screens and tech-overload, instead opting for a driver-focused interior. 

That consists of a large driver instrument display, a shrunken central infotainment screen and, wait for it, buttons and knobs! Rejoice!

The idea is that you can customise the buttons in the centre console to your liking and avoid fumbling around with screens when all you want to do is turn on your front demister.

They look properly classy, like a really posh hi-fi from the 1980s – just looking at them you know there's going to be a lovely smooth action. 

Interior materials feature Polestar's stellar approach to sustainability that we know and love. The seat backs, for example, use a woven hemp composite. 

​Polestar says that it's also experimenting with using hemp composites for exterior panels in lieu of carbon fibre as a more sustainable alternative.

Another nice touch is that the seats feature inflatable bolsters which can dynamically adjust to hug you and hold you in place as you carve around corners or switch between modes.

Verdict

The sad news first – this car isn't going into production. It's just a nice little concept car, though Polestar has teased us that if we show enough love for the Formula 2030 it'll make a drivable version (calling dibs on that right now). 

I'm told that the theme for the Polestar Formula 2030 is timelessness, which to Polestar means a design that will look just as good in 20 years as it does now. If there’s one thing that Polestars of the past have nailed it’s design, and the Formula 2030 is no exception.

I doubt we’ll see anything as radical and jaw dropping as the Formula 2030 on the road any time soon, but if this is what the future holds for Polestar, it’s bright indeed.