It’s over a year since Volvo’s performance spin-off, Polestar, first showed us its Tesla-baiting sports car. Feels like longer, doesn’t it?

But when the Polestar 1 is a 591bhp two-door with BMW M5 performance and a McLaren 540C price tag, you’d be forgiven for a lack of patience. It promises to be quite a thing.

This picture helps prove it’s nearly ready, with an undisguised car undergoing dynamic testing. “Steering responsiveness and torque vectoring calibration have taken priority in the latest tests,” says Volvo, “validating the chassis and suspension tuning carried out on earlier prototype cars in 2018."

There’s another, final prototyping stage to follow, with cars production ready by the middle of 2019. Phew.

“This is a GT that needs to be easy to drive and comfortable in everyday use with its smooth and quiet hybrid drivetrain,” says Polestar’s chief test driver, Joakim Rydholm, “but also ready to deliver its thrilling performance whenever the driver wants it.”

Alas, not if we want it before the middle of next year. The waiting’s nearly over, though…