June 10, 2021: Art collectors and artists, who appreciate a well-crafted car, will be thrilled with this novel idea! Swedish automaker Polestar is accepting art against a Polestar 1.
Polestar, an independent premium electric performance car brand founded by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding, is introducing an additional way of buying its halo electric performance hybrid before it reaches end of production later this year. Prospective buyers will be offered the opportunity to pay for the $155,000 vehicle by trading art they already own.
Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, says: “I love the idea of letting artists and collectors buy a Polestar 1 with art – it is such a special car and we wanted to find a unique way of celebrating it before its production reaches an end. It is hand-made, precious and tangible, much like a piece of art.”
Theodor Dalenson, a leading private art advisor who serves as Polestar’s consultant on this initiative, says, “Going back several hundred years in time, art trading mainly took place between artists and patrons. Painters like Picasso were known to trade sketches for restaurant meals. Polestar’s initiative is essentially a very natural extension of the tradition of art being used as payment for precious goods.”
Mr. Dalenson has been involved in the art world as a benefactor and has been a board member of institutions such as Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Perez Miami Art Museum, Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, Aspen Art Museum and Americans for the Arts.
Polestar will consider all forms of art, including paintings, sculptures, photography, installations and more. Incoming proposals will be reviewed by Mr. Dalenson, and, if deemed relevant, receive a valuation estimate by Sotheby’s and Phillips. Polestar, after a period of ownership, will sell the art, either via the auction houses or through the dealers that represent the artists.
The initiative will run until August 15, 2021 in North America and Europe. Submissions can be made at polestar.com/art/.
In April 2021, a special edition Polestar 1 was revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show, featuring a bespoke matte gold exterior paint job with matching brake callipers and black wheels. Inside, color-matched gold stitching gives the interior an even more unique feel. A maximum of 25 will be built and a handful will be eligible for the initiative.
A technical tour de force, the electric performance hybrid has a light-weight body made from carbon fiber reinforced polymer, twin rear electric motors with genuine torque vectoring and high-performance components like Akebono brakes and adjustable Öhlins dampers. With a combined power output of 619 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque, and a purely electric driving range of 60 MPGe – still the longest of any hybrid car in the world – Polestar 1 is a performance car that can be driven as a full EV in daily use, doubling as a great long-distance GT at any moment.
