Polestar, the new electric performance brand from the Volvo Car Group, has undertaken the first of a series of crash tests as part of the development of the Polestar 1 – in a first to test the strength of a carbon fibre reinforced polymer body in a real crash situation.
The Polestar 1 is a low-volume Electric Performance Hybrid GT with 600 hp, 1,000 Nm and an electric-only range of 150 km, the longest of any hybrid car in the world. One of the key components in creating a responsive and agile driving experience in the new Polestar 1 is the extensive use of carbon fibre reinforced polymer. Producing an overall weight saving of 230 kg, most of the main body parts are constructed from the high-tech and light-weight material, making it a core contributor to the dynamic handling of the Polestar 1.
“We were really excited about this crash test. The first crash test of Polestar 1 has been about exploring the unknown,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer at Polestar.
“This was a crucial proof point in the development of Polestar 1; we had to know that the ideas and calculations that have gone into building this car were right – and they were.”
In contrast to a steel body where bending helps the integrated crumple zones to reduce the amount of crash energy that reaches the vehicle’s occupants, carbon fibre dissipates energy by cracking and shattering. Close attention was given to the way the carbon fibre body reacted to the extreme forces involved in the impact. The engineers also focused on how the underlying steel body structure, and carbon fibre ‘dragonfly’ which strengthens it, managed the forces.
The Polestar 1 verification prototype, part of the first Polestar 1 build series, was propelled into a stationary barrier at 56 km/h, simulating a frontal collision.
Polestar 1 Floor Pan
Most of the energy was absorbed by the car’s crash structure, with the remaining energy mitigated by the carbon fibre body panels into the body structure which remained rigid and did not show signs of bending or misalignment after the crash.
Zef van der Putten, responsible for carbon fibre at Polestar, comments: “The outcome of this first crash test validates the decision to build the body of Polestar 1 in carbon fibre. It also confirms that carbon fibre supports the highest safety standards. This is an example of how Polestar spearheads the development of new technology in the Volvo Car Group.”
The crash test was conducted at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, where cars and other vehicles are crash-tested in a large number of real world simulations.
Photographs by Volvo Car Group.