There’s more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to improving an EV’s efficiency, and while shaving off weight is the hardest task to accomplish, a sleeker shape is easier to obtain and helps unlock extra miles of range. For this reason, many of today’s electric cars have rounded edges leading to bulbous shapes. Polestar 3 exterior design manager, Nahum Escobedo, isn’t a big fan of overly relying on aerodynamics to maximize range.
In an interview with Australian magazine WhichCar at the local launch of the Polestar 3, he was refreshingly honest about some of today’s car design trends. He thinks focusing on aerodynamics as much as possible to the detriment of interesting design details to improve range isn’t the way to go. When asked what annoys him in car designs, Escobedo replied: “The roundness of cars that are becoming almost potato-shaped, or like a Jelly Bean because that’s perfect for aerodynamics. Obviously, we want to do something different.”
Another pet peeve is excessive ambient lighting: “There are so many lights everywhere that I feel like I’m in a mini-Vegas! So many buttons, so many lights: this is purple, this is green, this is orange.” He went on to say automakers are overdoing it on the outside as well, referring to some cars as “Christmas lights on the street.”
During the same interview, Escobedo mentioned the Geely-owned automaker won’t put massive badges on its cars as the goal is to make the design say it’s a Polestar rather than a “humongous label.” In other words, the Gothenburg-based EV brand isn’t interested in coming out with shouty designs for the sake of letting everyone know the make of the model.
Polestar has a couple of interesting models on the horizon, chiefly the 5 sleek four-door gran tourer launching next year and the limited-run 6 roadster due in 2026.
