New photo RAY MASSEY: Volvo reinvents its racing arm Polestar to take on Tesla

Santa Claus will be using the Pole Star to help guide his sleigh this Christmas. 

But get ready for a shiny new Polestar in the New Year — with a British car boss leading the way as the Swedes aim to take on Elon Musk's Tesla.

Swedish car maker Volvo, owned by China's giant Geely, has reinvented its racing arm Polestar as a stand-alone 'electric performance brand' to spearhead their electric revolution with cars you can only order online.

Swedish car maker Volvo, owned by China's giant Geely, has reinvented its racing arm Polestar as a stand-alone 'electric performance brand'

Polestar's chief operating officer, Jonathan Goodman, a veteran of Volvo and Peugeot, is charged with innovating to outdo market leader Tesla.

Its first, defining model is the Polestar 1, a svelte plug-in electric hybrid GT coupe and 'halo' car which will be in showrooms in mid 2019. 

It is powered by a 2-litre four-cylinder 340 hp petrol engine linked to two electric motors driving the rear axle which together create an additional 260 hp.

The combined 600 hp will propel the car from rest to 62 mph in under four seconds up to a top speed of 155 mph. Bosses say it will have the longest electric-only range of any hybrid — some 93 miles (150 km).

The cars will be built at Polestar's purpose-built factory in Chengdu, China. So far 600 orders have been taken.

Polestar plans 500 a year at a hefty £155,000 — or £1,000 for every 1 mph. Thereafter, all future Polestars will be pure electric.

Early in the New Year we'll see the more affordable Polestar 2 — a mid-sized premium electric five-door 'fastback' with a battery range of 320 miles to cost between £40,000 and £60,000 from early 2020. In 2021, the Porsche Cayenne-sized Polestar 3 SUV arrives.

But perhaps the biggest change is that customers can only order cars online via an app. 

Drivers can choose to pay a flat-rate monthly subscription. But Mr Goodman stressed: 'If they want to buy a car outright, they can.'

After-sales servicing and maintenance will be carried out by Polestar staff at selected Volvo dealership garages. 

Porsche puts Cayman and Boxster models on a New Year diet

Porsche has put its 718 Cayman and Boxster models on a strict weight-loss regime to be fighting fit for New Year.

For the first time outside the 911 family, it's introducing 'T' (Touring) versions of the new Cayman coupe and Boxster cabriolet. 

Both mid-engine, two-seater sports cars are the lightest Porsches currently on sale — weighing around 15 kg less than the standard car.

For the first time outside the 911 family, Porsche is  introducing 'T' (Touring) versions of the new Cayman coupe and Boxster cabriolet (pictured) 

At £51,145 for the 718 Cayman T and from £53,006 for the 718 Boxster T roadster, the pair are priced about 10 per cent above the entry level.

The 2-litre flat four-cylinder turbo engine in both develop 300 hp, giving acceleration from rest to 62 mph in about 5 seconds up to a top speed of 171 mph.

A spokesman says: 'The best way to look at the 718 T is like an entry-level 718 that's gone on a New Year diet. It's lost weight and worked out a bit.'

Ever forgotten where you parked?

You're not alone. Nearly two thirds of UK drivers (65.1 per cent) — or about 21.4 million motorists — have forgotten where they parked their car, reveals new research by Nissan in a survey of 2,000 drivers.

Motorists waste more than 35 million hours a year looking for parked cars. More than a third (33.75 per cent) forget at least once a month where their car is parked.

One in 20 (5 per cent) admit losing their car almost every week, with a quarter (26.9 per cent) saying it has happened only once. A third of drivers (34.9 per cent) have never forgotten where they parked their car.

Nearly eight out of ten women (78 per cent) admit to forgetting where they parked their car, compared with six out of ten (58 per cent) men.

But female drivers are faster by around three minutes at retrieving their missing vehicle, taking 8.8 minutes on average compared with 11.9 for men.

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News Pictures RAY MASSEY: Volvo reinvents its racing arm Polestar to take on Tesla 

You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!

TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st

To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.

Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”

Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”

kim cattrall

Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb

SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.

Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
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