From concept to car: Crash testing an 800hp+ EV
Can an EV supercar still be safe? Crash testing the Polestar 5.
When you think of any performance car, what are the most common attributes that come to mind? Great to drive, beautiful design, luxurious interior. Polestar 5 has all of these things.
But the Polestar 5 goes way beyond that. This car is about bringing together everything we have learned so far, in the ultimate expression of what a Polestar should be.
And that means safety is a critical part of the car's development. In short, we want the Polestar 5 to join the Scandinavian automotive safety hall of fame.
This means we have done some things with the car that are largely unique to the segment. A far-side impact airbag, for example, offers additional levels of safety not normally seen in cars fitted with sports seats.
Concept to Car Episode 11 – The Crash test
As part of our Concept to Car series, we joined Helen Mossop, Senior Engineering Manager – Safety, as well as the safety team, as they take the Polestar 5 through a side pole test.
This is a critical test in the Polestar 5 development story. It essentially simulates what would happen if your car had an impact with a tree on the side. A significant test of the safety of any vehicle.
The Polestar 5 is fired sideways at 32 km/h against a rigid, narrow pole. Advanced biofidelic side impact dummies are used for this test. Where the Polestar 5’s focus on safety goes above and beyond for this test is with relation to the far-side airbag.
A quarter of all crashes are side impact, with close to half of all occupant injuries actually taking place on the opposite side of where the impact occurs.
This means the airbag, which deploys from the side of the Polestar 5’s sports seats, effectively forms a blocking countermeasure, designed to prevent occupant interaction during a crash. In simple terms, it helps to stop the driver and passenger from banging their heads together.
For Helen’s team, this is just a small step in the process of developing Polestar 5. It will potentially see several hundred different safety tests performed before being made available to consumers. They form an integral part of the experience Polestar 5 will offer. Safety and performance should go hand in hand, not be detrimental to each other.
