Polestar 4 2023 Reveal: No rear window.

Pollstar A A design-driven, pure electric brand, so the arrival of the Polestar 4 comes as no surprise (especially coming as it does, after the Polestars 1, 2 and 3). But what is noteworthy is that this brand of savvy lateral thinkers and style mavens wanted to save one of the most iconic automotive niches – the SUV coupé.

It helps that the company’s CEO, Thomas Englatt, was a designer in a previous life. “Instead of just modifying the existing SUV, making the roof line faster and compromising elements like rear headroom and comfort, we built the Polestar 4 from the ground up into a new breed of SUV coupé that respects rear passenger comfort.” He says.

Therefore, the most powerful dual-engine Polestar 4 is powered by a 102kW battery for a claimed range of 350 miles (WLTP) and is the most high-performance Polestar to date, but it is understandable that all eyes are on the design of the car and the rear. It ends especially. why? Because Polestar has done away with the traditional rear window entirely.

Those in glass houses

It’s an idea the company explored with its beautiful 2020 Precept concept car, but here’s the truth. As the designers say the car’s “glass house” shape is a key part of how we read a vehicle, it’s a punch to leave out a key part.

Polestar has done this by adopting the capability of a high-resolution screen that replaces the old rearview mirror. This shows a real-time feed from the roof-mounted rear camera, and offers a much wider field of view. These aren’t new—Range Rover has used ClearSight camera lenses for years—but Polestar is the first to show the design’s potential.

the reason? The car’s aerodynamic features have also been improved by lengthening the Polestar 4’s silhouette, a key part of the EV range-extending arsenal. The 4 has a surprisingly slippery 0.26 drag coefficient. But it allows for a reimagining of the rear of the car.

“In the past, we’ve had to make room for physical glass at the back,” Polestar design chief Maximilian Missoni told Wired. “The camera technology is very high quality now, it works well at night, and the software is constantly being improved so we can add value to the system over time. We can remove the rear window and move the whole structure back. It creates a cocoon.”