Polestar, the Volvo electrified performance offshoot brand, has announced plans to put its Precept concept into full production after it gained such widespread acclaim the press and elsewhere. Even though it's now set to go into production, Polestar claims there were never any plans to offer the Precept for sale to the public as it wasn't even considered a concept car by the company.
The Precept was designed as what Polestar refers to as a "commitment car," and that means it originally started out as a "manifesto to illustrate the brand’s future vision." The car was intended to showcase Polestar's future design direction, its path for the increased use of digital technology, and the company's commitment to the use of innovative sustainable materials both inside and outside its vehicles.
Some of us remember the days when carmakers used to unveil stunning concept cars like the Precept at motor shows around the world that wowed audiences and the media, but they never got anywhere near going into production. Even if a concept was officially trailed by a manufacturer as a vision of what a future version of an existing model might look like, we all knew the eventual production model would look almost nothing like the concept. At best, they usually ended up as watered-down, pale imitations of the concept that got everyone excited about the new model in the first place.
These days, concept (or commitment) cars are almost always as close to a full-blown pre-production model as you could hope to get, and nobody is surprised anymore when the "shocking" news comes out that the manufacturer has decided to put the concept into production and offer it for sale to the public.
What this allows manufacturers like Polestar to do is to float a planned design to see how well it's received and gauge potential demand before committing to any technical details. For example, all we actually know about the Precept is what it looks like and the fact it will be made of all sorts of sustainable materials.
The Precept concept features materials such as recycled PET bottles, reclaimed fishing nets, recycled cork vinyl and a flax-based composite developed by external partner Bcomp Ltd is featured in many interior and some exterior parts. Polestar hopes to be able to bring as much of this sustainability into production as possible.
Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath, explained, "Consumers want to see change from this industry – not just dreams. Now, Precept becomes an even stronger statement. We are committed to reduce the environmental impact of our cars and our business. The aim has to be climate neutrality, even though I recognise that is a long-term goal."
So, we don’t know what sort of powerplant the Precept will have apart from the fact it will be electrified, and we don’t know how much it will cost or what area of the market it will be targeting. What we do know is it will be made out of old plastic bottles, plastic bags and fishing nets and it will spearhead the Chinese-owned brand's lofty ambitions of sustainability and carbon neutrality. Ladies and gentlemen, we may be witnessing the birth of the world's first truly woke car, but we definitely know it looks good at least.