Sweden’s Polestar has shown a first undisguised image of its electric performance SUV, called the Polestar 3.

The Polestar 3 will be sized (and priced) to serve as an electric counterpoint to the Porsche Cayenne—so its most direct current rivals will include the BMW iX M60, the three-motor Audi E-Tron S, and the Tesla Model X Plaid. It’s due to be built on the modular Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform shared with parent company Geely, and with Volvo Cars.

In the photos, we see a design that nods back to the chiseled look of the Polestar 2—and the upkick of its rear pillar—but provides a different kind of sculpting and dynamic. In particular, a low beltline appears to visually lower the profile compared to those other SUVs.

Geely SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) modular EV platform

Geely SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) modular EV platform

Assembly will start in early 2023. The model will be U.S.-made in Charleston, South Carolina, at Volvo Cars’ facility—the same site that is set to build a fully electric next-generation Volvo XC90—as well as in China. 

Aside from the images and the more precise production timeline—with a full reveal due for October—there was little other new info about the SUV. The 3 will have a dual-motor system and “a large battery.” The brand is developing its own motor and battery systems, so don't expect much Volvo carryover. 

Also as the company has said before, driving range is targeted at over 372 miles on the more optimistic WLTP cycle; lidar hardware comes from Luminar; and centralized computing power is from Nvidia. 

Beginning with the Polestar 3, the brand has said that it plans to launch a new vehicle each year for the next three years, with aims to reach 30 global markets by the end of 2023 and a target to reach about 290,000 global annual sales by the end of 2025.

L to R: Polestar 5, Polestar 4 and Polestar 3

L to R: Polestar 5, Polestar 4 and Polestar 3

As Polestar revealed last December, when it previewed the silhouettes of the Polestar 3, 4, and 5 under covers, the Polestar 4 will be a somewhat smaller SUV—a closer rival to the Tesla Model Y or Ford Mustang Mach-E—while the Polestar 5 will be a longer, lower, more rakish car sized more like the Tesla Model S and modeled after the brand’s Precept “manifesto concept car.”