2020 Polestar 1 inches closer to production as new Chinese factory nears completion

The Polestar 1 is coming soon, and the company just announced it’s in the final prototype stage. Specifically, Polestar is currently producing tooling try-out (TT) cars, which is the step before pre-production cars. What’s extra neat is that Polestar is sharing the process with new photos in and around its manufacturing facility in Chengdu, China.

Polestar’s facilities are rather stunning in the photos with the stark white background consuming everything. It somehow makes the muted colors of the Polestar 1 pop better than we’ve ever seen before. There will reportedly be more colors available than just these ones, but we’re loving what Polestar is showing us now.

Customers have also started the process of confirming their final builds for the $155,000 plug-in hybrid coupe. There will be no shortage of power on tap for the electrified monster at 600 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque. It’ll need all of that, as this car will compete with other standouts like the Lexus LC500 and new BMW 8 Series. Whereas those cars use displacement, the Volvo is using a small turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder in tandem with two electric motors. All 500 cars for the first model year are spoken for at this point, so you’ll need to wait your turn for the next model year if you want one of these slick two-doors.

Polestar says it’s made about 50 TT prototypes so far as it finishes up the final touches on the new Chengdu plant. Deliveries to U.S. customers will reportedly begin right around the end of 2019 and start of 2020, assuming all pre-production testing goes according to plan. It’s been fun to follow along Polestar’s development of its first stand-alone car, as many car companies don’t publicize these small steps on the road to production.