Polestar hopes to complete its graduation from Volvo's electric-car spin-off to a Porsche competitor with a 650kW, near-$200,000 super sedan not related to any other Geely group car.
Electric Cars
Polestar has doubled down on deleting the rear window from its cars with the reveal of the most expensive new vehicle to wear its badge, the 2026 Polestar 6 electric sedan.
Due in Australia mid-next year, it is designed to compete with the Porsche Taycan, and becomes the first Polestar not built on the same underpinnings as a model from another brand under its parent company Geely, such as Volvo, Zeekr and Smart.
The design of the Polestar 5 is no surprise, given prototypes with little to no camouflage have been seen testing for more than two years – including in Australia – and it is closely related to 2020's Precept concept.
Today's news at the Munich motor show marks the official debut of the car's showroom-bound design, as well as confirmation of its power, range and performance – as well as the price.
It will start from $171,100 plus on-road costs for the standard Dual Motor – undercutting its Porsche Taycan rival ($181,200) which, in its cheapest form, has only one motor, nearly half the power, and a 100km-shorter range.
The flagship model is priced from $193,100 plus on-roads – double the price of a dual-motor Polestar 4, but with acceleration on par with the $264,500 Taycan GTS and power akin to the $419,000 Taycan Turbo GT.
Orders are now open in Australia, where it will join the Polestar 2 mid-size liftback, higher-riding Polestar 4 mid-size liftback, and Polestar 3 large SUV in the brand's range.
The cheapest model in the initial range, the Polestar 5 Dual Motor, develops 550kW and 812Nm across its front and rear electric motors, for a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of 3.9 seconds, and 250km/h top speed.
The flagship Performance model ups outputs from the dual electric motors to 650kW and 1015Nm – more than any other Polestar ever sold – for 0-100km/h in 3.2sec, and the same top speed.
Driving range in European WLTP lab testing is rated at up to 670km for the Dual Motor, and 565km in the Performance, from a 106kWh (usable capacity) nickel-manganese-cobalt battery.
The Polestar 5 is the brand's first car to run at 800 volts, rather than 400V, unlocking faster charging – now up to 350kW DC, for a claimed 10 to 80 per cent recharge time of 22 minutes.
It is a higher peak than a Taycan's 320kW, but it is slower to charge – the Porsche claims 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes – and is limited to 11kW on AC power, as found at home, rather than 22kW.
The Polestar 5 is based on an all-new underpinnings developed by a team of sports-car engineers in the UK – rather than Polestar's usual operations in Sweden or China – with bonded aluminium technology pioneered by Lotus.
Known as the Polestar Performance Architecture, it is claimed to be stiffer than a "two-seat sports- or supercar", and integrates the battery pack in the car's structure to save weight and complexity.
All models use four-piston Brembo front brake calipers, clamping new 400mm lightweight two-piece discs claimed to be 12kg lighter than those in the Polestar 3 SUV.
The Dual Motor swaps 'passive', non-variable dampers for MagneRide adaptive units, which can read the road up to 1000 times per second and use magnetorheological fluid to react within three milliseconds.
Polestar highlights a "steering rack placed ahead of the front axle" that improves handling, as well as specially-developed Michelin tyres designed specifically for the car's 20-, 21- and 22-inch wheels.
The Polestar 5's most distinctive design feature is the lack of a rear window, replaced by a high-resolution camera on the roof, which is projected into a digital rear-view mirror inside the car.
As with the cheaper Polestar 4, the design choice allows the rear of the roof structure to be pushed behind the back-seat passengers' heads, unlocking more headroom while retaining the sleek shape.
Other exterior details on the five-metre-long car – a large sedan in the same category as a BMW 5 Series – include matrix LED headlights, a full-width LED rear light bar, and body cladding in gloss black or 'Shade'.
Despite its size, Polestar claims 365 litres of boot space under the rear liftback – less than a Mazda 2 sedan – and a 62-litre under-bonnet luggage area.
There are three rear seats, but Polestar says the car has been "designed primarily" as a four-seater, the outboard seats offering heating, ventilation, massaging, and individual recline functions.
Designed primarily as a four-seater, with the central armrest in its lower position, rear seat passengers can control the four-zone climate system, seat heating, ventilation, and massage functions.
Outboard rear occupants benefit from cut-outs in the battery known as 'foot garages' – a design pioneered by the Taycan – to improve foot room and deliver "a more natural seating position".
These seats are in the same Recaro-made design as the fronts, which also offer heating, power adjustment and black 'MicroTech' upholstery as standard, with optional black or white Bridge of Weir nappa leather introducing ventilation and massaging functions.
The driver is presented with a 9.0-inch instrument display, 9.5-inch windscreen-projected head-up display, and a 14.5-inch touchscreen, running software based on Android Automotive – a step beyond the Android Auto app within an existing multimedia system.
It includes four customisable shortcut tiles pinned below the Google Maps view, as well as a "dedicated shortcut tile" to add six commonly-used functions to the home screen.
Available features include the largest glass roof ever fitted to a Polestar, a volume dial, ambient lighting, and a choice of 10-speaker Polestar or 21-speaker, 1680-watt Bowers and Wilkins audio systems.
Recycled materials are used heavily, with a 'BComp' flax natural-fibre material on the front seatbacks, lower door panels and boot lining, while the under-bonnet storage area uses a different sustainable material said to be 60 per cent lighter than regular plastic.
A series of 11 exterior 'vision' cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors, one driver monitoring camera, and one mid-range radar power the vehicle's advanced safety systems, including lane-centring assist.
The 2026 Polestar 5 is now available to order in Australia.
2026 Polestar 5 price in Australia:
Note: All prices above exclude on-road costs.
2026 Polestar 5 Dual Motor standard features:
2026 Polestar 5 Performance adds (over Dual Motor):
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
