The 2026 Polestar 5 has debuted in the digital world, confirmed to join the Gran Turismo 7 vehicle grid in time for Christmas.
Announced at the Gran Turismo World Series event in Los Angeles this week, the Polestar 5 will be part of a free game update in December available to all Gran Turismo 7 players across PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles.
Further, the electric vehicle (EV) brand will continue to expand its partnership with the video game franchise, confirming a special time trial competition and an upcoming documentary series on YouTube.
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“Working especially closely with professional racing driver and sim-racer Igor Fraga, known for his experience and competitive lap times in Gran Turismo, the teams have faithfully translated the dynamic qualities of the Polestar 5 into the game,” Polestar says in its media release.
“Fraga was given special access to prototype Polestar 5 vehicles and R&D experts at Polestar’s development facilities in Sweden before final sign-off at the Brands Hatch circuit in England.
“The experts at Polyphony Digital then applied that real-world vehicle feedback to their class-leading handling and dynamics simulation, creating a precise digital representation of the car.
“With the right person behind the wheel, lap times in-game and in real life are directly comparable.”
The Polestar 5 will become the brand’s flagship model when it arrives during the first half of 2026, debuting a new in-house 800V electric vehicle platform dubbed Polestar Performance Architecture.
Orders for the Chinese-made electric GT are already open, with prices starting from $171,100 plus on-road costs. All versions in Australia feature the same 112kWh gross (106kWh net) nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion battery that’s a stressed part of the Polestar 5’s structure.
The Dual motor has 550kW of power and 812Nm of torque for a claimed 3.9 second 0-100km/h time, with the Performance lowering that to 3.2 seconds courtesy of its higher 650kW/1015Nm outputs – both versions topping 250km/h.
There’s up to 670km of WLTP electric range in the Dual motor, with the Performance offering 565km. To help achieve those distances, the electric grand tourer has the ability to disconnect its rear motor, while DC fast charging at speeds of up to 350kW enables an 80 per cent charge in around 22 minutes.
While Polestar’s sales in Australia are up in 2025 (admittedly off a low base), the company has well-documented struggles at a global level – namely slow sales and the threat of being delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Initially formed as a motorsport firm, Polestar has gone from Volvo’s tuning arm to becoming its own standalone premium electric performance car brand, with backing from Volvo Cars and China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group – the parent company of Volvo as well as Geely, Zeekr, Lotus and Smart.
Headquartered in Sweden, Polestar currently offers the 2, 3, 4 and 5 which are all electric, with plans to launch the Polestar 6 and 7 in the coming years.
A documentary film showcasing the collaboration between physical and digital Polestar 5 will be available on Polestar’s YouTube channel when the time trial competition goes live – where the winner will receive an exclusive trip to Fukuoka, Japan to attend the World Finals of the 2025 GT World Series.
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