Car Design Dialogues: In conversation with Maximilian Missoni

“Traditionally, when you work on a new car, and we have done a couple of cars for Volvo and now for Polestar, there is a lot of pressure,” says Polestar’s head of design Maximilian Missoni. The designer was on typically intense form as he spoke to Car Design News’ editor-in-chief Christopher Ludwig at the inaugural Car Design Dialogues event. The audience was taken on a deep dive into the processes, materials and design strategy for the first production model.

“You iterate, ask yourselves, ‘are we really happy’, and that is a normal part of the process. But with a new brand like this, with all the legacy of having been embedded with the Volvo world in terms of engineering, and the whole safety story. There is a lot of knowledge and a lot of boxes to tick.”

“Then you have the freedom as well. But you have to double check to make sure that the freedom is aligned with what people expect from a brand that is in the Volvo group. It is pressure, but it is exciting. A great challenge.”