At a holiday pop-up market in the middle of New York City’s soaring Oculus in early December, one display grabbed all the attention. While booths selling chocolate, jewelry, and Christmas-themed pet accessories stood idle, a deep circle of admirers surrounded a gleaming new Polestar 2 , vying for a closer look. The fastback’s sleek, powerful stance and piercing, Pixel LED headlights projected a sense of otherworldly design amidst the winter-wonderland surroundings.

“I’ve never been in a car like this before,” said one onlooker, marveling at the carefully curated textures and details of its interior. Sitting in the driver’s seat, another likened the futuristic dashboard display to a “minimalist spaceship that’s very user friendly.” It was as though Santa had made a checklist of every traditional automotive shortcoming and crossed them off, one by one. “I can’t wait to start driving!” blurted one wide-eyed teen.

The crowd’s excitement might even be described as electric—fitting, given that the Polestar 2 is the first battery-electric vehicle produced by Volvo’s new standalone performance brand. It will be released in the U.S. later this year and is destined to rival the Tesla Model 3 in the premium compact electric segment. But that’s where the comparisons end, as the Polestar 2 is unlike any other vehicle—or brand experience, for that matter. Polestar has achieved this through a design approach and business model that has been radically reorganized from the ground up.

Part of that unorthodoxy originated prior to the brand’s 2017 launch as Volvo recognized the impending sea change in automobile propulsion. “The company was beginning to see the heavy impact electrification would have, as well as the opportunities the big shift would offer,” explains Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of the Polestar Group (and formerly SVP of design at Volvo Cars). “As a car designer, I was always confronted by the consumer perspective that change never progressed at the speed people wanted. With a completely different type of propulsion coming in, it gave us the opportunity to shake up other things as well. So, we forgot about tiny, evolutionary steps and took a big leap to leave the old world behind.”

GOODBYE NORMAL

Ingenlath and his teams started by systematically assessing areas of the typical automobile experience that, as Ingenlath diplomatically puts it, “the spirit of normal actually wasn’t that good” and “frustration has accumulated.” The first target: traditional distribution and the dealer showroom model. Polestar will instead be a direct-to-consumer business—customers will be able to interact with the vehicles at Polestar Spaces with non-commissioned product specialists before ordering one online. As for payment, Polestar views drivers more as “users” than owners: The company will offer a subscription option, in which a flat, monthly fee alleviates the worry of depreciation, insurance, and maintenance.

Next came the Achilles’ heel for most automobile manufacturers: the intimidating and often impenetrable infotainment software. Polestar tackled the issue head-on by partnering with Google. The Polestar 2 will be the first car to use Android Automotive OS, enabling state-of-the-art voice recognition and full access to all automotive-optimized apps from Google Play, including Google Assistant and Google Maps. The vehicle will stay permanently connected to the internet, providing the ability to update the software easily and with the same frequency as a smartphone.