What's all this about?

It’s called the Polestar Synergy, and it’s a full-sized model car. It’s basically the winning design – or designs, should we say, but more on that later – from the 2022 Polestar Design Contest, made real at a 1:1 scale. And the Swedish electric vehicle (EV) company is showing it off at the Munich motor show, ahead of its full tour of US Polestar spaces. This is because there’s another exciting announcement from Polestar, also regarding model cars.

Which is?

The carmaker has teamed up with Mattel, the company behind Hot Wheels, and the 2023 Polestar Design Contest will therefore be influenced by the most “innovative and outrageous” models that Hot Wheels has put out over the past 55 years. Even better than that, Polestar’s production vehicles will soon be appearing as both Hot Wheels and Matchbox models in the very near future.

Ah, that is good news. But can I just go back to the Synergy and hear a bit more about that?

No problem. From a 2022 entry list of more than 600 designs, Polestar’s judging panel whittled these down to a shortlist of the best ten. Unusually, the judges couldn’t pick one winner, so opted for two exterior designs – by Paris-based Devashish Deshmukh and Swapnil Desai – as well as an interior treatment from China’s Yingxiang Li.

Working to the theme of a performance-based driving experience in an EV which is both technical and sustainable, the visions of all three were merged together by both the winning entrants and Polestar’s designers over the course of six months, to emerge with this 1:1 scale model of a single-seater, high-performance electric supercar. Looks great, doesn’t it?

Sure does. But will it go into production?

Erm, no. It’s not the most practical of layouts, after all. Despite being 4.56 metres long, the Synergy is just 1.07 metres tall and that’s… low. However, as an idea that shows electric exotics of the future can be as exciting as the internal combustion-powered supercars of the modern era, the Synergy absolutely nails its brief. Much to the delight of Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar’s CEO, who said while unveiling the model in Munich: “Congratulations to the winners; their vision and the teamwork with our designers has resulted in a truly gorgeous car. The collaboration with Mattel for next year’s Polestar Design Contest and the forthcoming scale models of our production cars will bring the Polestar brand and this groundbreaking competition to an even wider audience. All of this proves that electric vehicles – in reality or as toys – can be just as, if not more, exciting than their ICE equivalents.”

So why has Hot Wheels decided to link up with Polestar?

Well, according to Roberto Stanichi, senior vice-president and global head of vehicles at Mattel, it’s for these reasons: “Just as Polestar is redefining the boundaries of electric performance and automotive innovation, Hot Wheels has consistently pushed the limits of imagination and design, and we are thrilled to announce our partnership with Polestar starting with this year’s Design Contest winner. This collaboration celebrates the essence of Hot Wheels: hard-fought determination, grit and passion that pushes the boundaries of auto design. We can’t wait to see the concepts for next year’s challenge.”

And when does the 2023 Polestar Design Competition, in association with Hot Wheels, get under way?

Full details of the impending design competition will be announced by Polestar in due course. We’ll keep you posted.

Matt Robinson - 5 Sep 2023