Want ultimate luxury without ultra-luxury prices? Most buyers head to the used market, where options like a 2010 Bentley Continental GT go for just $32,000 – less than the price of a new Honda Pilot. But early Bentleys are everywhere in places like Miami or LA, and their maintenance costs are brutal.
Instead, buy a Polestar 1. It’s a rare,609-horsepower, carbon fiber coupe that now sells for $58k (down from $155,000 when original) and almost nobody knows it exists. It’s also gorgeous, outrageously powerful, and guaranteed to turn heads where common luxury coupes blend into the background.
All specs have been sourced directly from the manufacturer. Used car prices vary greatly depending on location, mileage, number of owners, cosmetic and mechanical condition, and more.
The Polestar 1 Is Rare, But Relatively Cheap
Polestar 1 front 3/4 angle in bluePolestar
The Polestar 1 is a surefire way to stand out in your local Cars & Coffee. It was only produced for two model years, 2020 and 2021, in which only 1,500 units rolled off the assembly line. The rarest of the rare comes down to a Special Edition variant sold for the 2021 model year; only 25 examples were produced, and were set apart by their “Sun” matte gold finish, gloss black diamond-cut wheels, gold brake calipers, and gold cabin stitching and seatbelts.
Despite its rarity, the Polestar 1 is surprisingly “cheap.” Okay, it’s not “cheap” as in Honda Civic money; the average listing price for a Polestar 1 comes out at around $60,000–$65,000 at the time of writing. While a couple of sellers are asking for six figures, most listings are priced at less than the cost of a new BMW M2 or Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. According to Classic.com, a source that tracks auctions and other sales data, the average sale price over the past 12 months was $58,968. Since the model is so rare, that figure accounts for only three sales (one of which was in the United Kingdom).
We searched the country for listings — these represent the average Polestar 1 listed for sale in the United States:
- A 2021 model with 30,497 miles is listed for $58,780 in Washington
- A 2021 model with 4,190 miles is listed for $60,399 in Illinois
- A 2021 model with 5,688 miles is listed for $70,488 in Georgia
- A 2020 model with 17,675 miles is listed for $59,300 in Illinois
- A 2021 model with 22,356 miles is listed for $52,026 in Texas
There aren’t many listings available, to be fair. Perhaps most owners are either satisfied enough with their purchase to keep driving the car, or they believe its value will increase over time once the worst of its depreciation is over. We can’t say for sure why the Polestar 1 lost so much value. It could be simple, like how the car is a plug-in hybrid, which typically depreciates more quickly than gas-only cars. Enthusiasts may have forgotten it even exists, or maybe Polestar’s brand image declined in the wake of America’s political climate.
With Polestar getting the boot from selling cars in the United States after the 2026 model year, it’s unlikely we’ll ever get another car – let alone a sports coupe – from the brand. We’re sure some owners see it as an opportunity for appreciation, while others might see it as a liability, since dealerships will close and parts will be more expensive or difficult to come by.
Almost Entirely Carbon Fiber, Yet It Weighs As Much As A Full-Size Truck
2020-2021 Polestar 1 Gray Side View DrivingPolestar
Polestar lived a short life in the United States.Having been formed in 2017 as an independent performance EV brand under Volvo, the company’s first model had to make an impact. Most curiously, it decided to launch its first vehicle as a plug-in hybrid – not an electric vehicle like every following model would be. Nevertheless, the Polestar 1 debuted in 2019 for the 2020 model year. It set a high standard for the less-cool cars to come.
Almost every body panel is constructed from carbon fiber, including the doors, front fenders, hood, trunk lid, and roof, yet its engine, battery, and other components add up to a total curb weight of 5,170 lbs. Enthusiasts who complained about the BMW G90 M5’s hefty curb weight would be shocked to learn a coupe weighs almost as much.
One of our auto journalists had an opportunity to drive the Polestar 1 back when it was new, and describes it best:
“The Polestar 1 was a very interesting way to launch a new automaker. Its styling borrowed liberally from the Volvo playbook, so much so that it looked more like an S90 coupe than the flagship grand tourer it was meant to be. Still, its carbon-intensive construction, manually adjustable Öhlins dampers, and 609-horsepower plug-in hybrid powertrain gave it incredible performance, while the gorgeously crafted interior blended tasteful Scandinavian design with lovely materials. There were flaws – a middling ride, teensy back seats, and a staggering price – but the Polestar 1 was a splendid long-distance coupe.” – Brett Evans, senior road tester, CarBuzz
As long as you plan to reserve the rear seats for cargo instead of people, the interior won’t disappoint. Micro-perforated leather upholstery with a knurled toggle-switch starter, crystal gear selector, and an elegantly laid-out infotainment system that doesn’t fill the cabin with screens tie the luxurious interior together. It also comes with a fixed glass roof featuring an etched Polestar logo, carbon fiber and metal inlays, and a 1,400-watt Bowers & Wilkins audio system.
An EV Brand Launched By A Plug-In Hybrid
Polestar 1 high voltage wiring in trunk detail shotPolestar
Under the hood is where the Polestar 1 gets even more interesting. If its beautiful bespoke form and striking styling don’t lure you in, then its 609 hp will. Remember that this isn’t just a technological evolution of Volvo’s performance division. Polestar wanted this coupe to make a statement without targeting any specific rivals.
Powering this coupe is a complicated mechanic’s nightmare of a 2.0-liter twin-charged (turbocharged and supercharged) inline-four-cylinder that’s assisted by three electric motors with power sourced from a 34-kilowatt-hour battery pack. All in all, this plug-in hybrid system produced a combined 609 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque, which was sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
“The company was so proud of its flagship’s engineering that it placed the high-voltage electric cables on full display behind a pane of glass in the trunk, and finished bare carbon peeked out from underneath the sill tread plates any time you opened a door. That gorgeous composite bodywork may have resembled a Volvo, but A: its construction was pure Polestar, and B: is that really a bad thing?” – Brett Evans, senior road tester, CarBuzz
All that power presented itself as a 4.2-second 0-60 mph sprint, then a top speed limited to 155 miles per hour. In typical plug-in hybrid fashion, owners could utilize electric-only range to save on fuel; setting a record when it was new, the model could drive up to 52 miles on electric power alone. According to the EPA, its total combined fuel economy reached 58 MPG, or 26 MPG on gas alone.
Supporting that much speed – and the car’s weight – is a set of Öhlins dampers with manual adjustability. Some buyers might not be accustomed to tuning their own suspension when spending an original $155k on a flagship luxury coupe, but the suspension and electric torque vectoring at the rear axle lead to fairly nimble handling, according to some drive reviews.
What If You Can’t Get Your Hands On A Polestar 1?
Lecus LC 500h rear 3/4 angle in yellowIan Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet
If we had $60k–$65k to spend on a luxury sports car, the Polestar 1 makes an excellent case for itself. That said, some owners across multiple forums call its future reliability into question. However impressive its powertrain is, that could be outweighed by the notion of fixing anything that breaks. Plus, its rarity leads buyers to seek more common alternatives. Since the Polestar 1 didn’t necessarily target any competitors, we took the liberty of choosing the Lexus LC 500 hybrid as a potential used buy.
The LC 500h was discontinued after the 2025 model year due to slow sales. We don’t blame buyers for neglecting the hybrid option when there’s a 5.0-liter V8 on the table, but the LC 500h is by no means a bad car. It’s powered by a 3.5-liter V6 regular hybrid system that makes 354 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, which is sent to the rear wheels via a continuously variable transmission. It can sprint to 60 mph from a standstill in 4.8 seconds before reaching its limited top speed of 155 mph.
It might not be as exciting as the Polestar 1, but it’s another great-looking coupe or convertible with modern technology and reasonable performance. They’re not as desirable as the standard variant with its V8 engine, so it’s pretty cheap; searching the nation for listings shows most average examples asking around the $70k mark, while newer or lower-mileage examples go in the high $50k to low $60k range.
The Polestar 1 Deserves More Recognition
Polestar 1 interior view of the front cabinPolestar
For being so rare, luxurious, and powerful, we’re honestly surprised to see the Polestar 1 so cheap today. If every enthusiast had an opportunity to drive one, we’re confident their values would be much higher. Alas, the model was limited to only 1,500 units over the course of two model years, so there aren’t many around to be driven.
Some owners took to forums to discuss potential reliability issues, but there are so few examples that we can’t reasonably pinpoint maintenance costs or common problems. At the end of the day, most people who own these cars don’t drive them much anyway, and the cars could end up sitting in a garage until their values come back up.
Sources: Polestar, AutoTempest , Bring A Trailer , Polestar Forum , Classic.com , Motor1
