VOLVO SUB-BRAND POLESTAR OFFERS 'PUZZLING' PREVIEW OF FIRST CONCEPT

Volvo's sub-brand, Polestar, is getting ready to take on Tesla – but we aren't getting the full picture just yet. 

A lot of teaser shots of new concepts are pretty unimaginative and not very creative. They provide either an insanely zoomed-in close up of some irrelevant detail of the car or some form of a profile shot with surface detail obscured by darkness. 

So we have to give Volvo's Polestar some credit for their creative, puzzle-shaped preview of what is probably an electric or electrified luxury coupe. Small segments of its first concept car have been released by Polestar on its Instagram account, which now paints a partial picture of the finished product.

The mystery concept car is due to be unveiled in Shangai on October 17th, and will certainly be electrified in some way – Polestar is now Volvo's electric car sub-brand. The car will certainly also be a coupe, probably in the style of the Concept Coupe shown by Volvo at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. 

The 2013 concept showcased the talents of Thomas Ingenlath – Volvo's designer who was new to the automaker at the time – and also gave the world a glimpse at the latest Volvo design themes. Ingenlath is now the CEO of Polestar itself, so it makes sense that the brand's first model may follow up on the themes revealed in Frankfurt in 2013. 

Even though we have to wait another week to find out exactly what will power the first Polestar concept (perhaps Volvo's T8 PHEV powertrain?), it is clear that the new brand has Tesla in its sights, even though Polestar didn't start out that way. An outside tuning house purchased by Volvo, Polestar is currently being transformed into a premium performance and electric marque that won't be wearing the Volvo badge but will trade on being designed and backed by Volvo.

"We want to redefine the brand, moving it away from having gasoline-powered cars to offering electrification and something that we call progressive performance," Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson told Automotive News earlier this year.