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Polestar will present a series of concept cars as freshly installed design boss Philipp Römers evolves the exterior and interior look of the electric premium brand and ups the focus on performance.
Römers arrived from Audi – where he most recently penned both the A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron – just a few months after the new chief executive of Polestar, Michael Lohscheller.
Both are tasked with rebooting the struggling car-maker to achieve the sales volume it needs to survive.
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As reported here, Lohscheller turned up at the Munich IAA recently to launch the Polestar 5 luxury saloon and spent a lot of time talking about the company’s billion dollar quarter two 2025 financial loss.
But Römers, speaking to Australian media at a round table in Munich, was all-positive as he hammered home how future Polestars would be more appealing to those who are obsessed with design and performance.
“I love cars and I love driving and this is something we will express in the future in our design language”, said Römers.
Intriguingly though, this doesn’t mean a tear-up of what Polestar has already delivered under previous design boss Max Missoni.
“I quickly decided already that it’s much too early to do a strong revolution because the brand is still so new,” he said.
“So we will do a very bold evolution, so you will definitely see this in a new generation of cars, but all will be based on the [current] DNA.”
With the Polestar 5 now launched and rolling out, the next new model and the Polestar 7 compact SUV not due to start production until early 2028, Römers is taking the opportunity to fill the void with concepts that will reveal the extent of this evolution.
“Of course, as a design-driven brand, you need from time to time some concept cars,” said Römers.
“I can’t confirm it today, but we are on it. I mean, I’m dreaming of it, definitely, yes.”
The German designer insisted all future models would draw huge influence from the newly launched Polestar 5 that would remain the brand’s ‘master key’ when it comes to not only design and Römers’ new obsession for Polestar – performance.
“Polestar 5 is really just right now the flagship which expresses at its best the values of design, performance and sustainability,” he said.
“And we will stick to these values and even will emphasise the topic of performance more.
“We will do a strong evolution following or according to this performance chapter.”
At the very top of Römers to-do list is the brand’s most important car yet – the Polestar 7 compact SUV that will herald the volume needed for the Geely-owned brand to finally thrive.
“The Polestar 7 has to look sleek and dynamic and horizontal”, says the new design boss, referencing the low-slung Polestar 5.
However, he clarified the compact 7 would still have a typical upright stance, rather than looking like a high-riding sedan.
Dominating its shape would be, what’s described as a “very strong light signature” that will include an updated version of the firm’s trademark dual-blade lamps.
Other highlights will potentially be a Polestar 3-like air bridge-style nose that will hint at advanced aerodynamics.
Inside, Römers says that Polestar will continue to lead the way for cabin design.
But the chief designer hinted that the brand might have reached peak minimalism with the current cars, with the return of some buttons within the cabin inevitable.
“Obviously, we will never go back again to fully analogue. You have to use the technology in a very smart way, but we are talking about a car and about a driver-focused car. So we have to find the right balance.”
Targeting the likes of BMW with a new cars that will appeal to real drivers, Römers said that the firm’s BST (BeaST) performance sub-brand will live on in the future but high-performance derivatives won’t be all about huge ugly wings, diffusers and bolt-on air-bending aids.
“We should remain, of course, progressive and have some features which are outstanding, but the execution and the looks of the car should be highly attractive and well done and should not scare you!”
The Polestar design chief wouldn’t be drawn to when or if the Polestar 4 or Polestar 3 would get the BST treatment.
While there is doubt over the future of the Polestar 6 sports car because it has been pushed back behind the 7 and, potentially, the second-generation Polestar 2, Römers still expects it to be built.
It may come with significantly overhauled design, reflecting the evolution Römers is rolling out. He stressed the importance of such halo cars for the brand.
“We have some time and let’s see how Polestar 6 design fits then still to the new cars,” he said.
With Bruce Newton
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