Khyzyl Saleem interview
Khyzyl Saleem is a Guildford-based self-taught concept artist and car design maverick, known for giving his imagination the reins and producing designs which are both works of art and fantasies realised. His designs don't have hint of compromise. The only limit is his own creativity.
I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work on such a car, and I hope that everyone at Polestar doesn't hate me too much for what I've done with it!
Which is what made him the ideal person to reimagine the Polestar 1 as the wide-bodied, double-spoiler boasting road-eater which graces the cover of NFS Hea™. We fired off a few questions to him about design, inspiration, and the Polestar 1.
What were your first impressions of the Polestar 1?
Futuristic elegance. The car has a certain aesthetic to it that just oozes luxury and elegance, whilst maintaining a very sleek and sporty image. You can imagine the Polestar 1 in a film, set in the future, parked outside a very sci-fi looking building, and having it look right where it's supposed to be. That's a wonderful thing.
What was your first impression of the brand overall?
Believe it or not I was actually a big fan of Polestar prior to the unveiling of the Polestar 1. I love motorsport and would follow you guys. So, I guess you could say my first impression was extremely positive and exciting. You have that racing background and you want to make cars for the road, what's a better combination than that?
What makes the Polestar 1 distinctive in your opinion?
For me, it's the design of the car itself, mainly the rear. It's big and bold and has the power to match. The rear light design gets me every time, it's the perfect blend of boxy and curvy which compliments the overall look.
Did the Polestar 1 present any unique design opportunities, when compared to other cars?
I had to try make it look more aggressive whilst still trying to maintain the original body shape, so I opted to build on the original fender design and add my own touch: keeping the overall shape boxy but adding curvature to it. It was actually a lot of fun to work on! The car has lot of angles and lines that could be built upon when it came to the splitters and canards, which was probably one of my favourite parts of this build.
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Where did you take your inspiration from for the overall design?
I didn't get my inspiration from anywhere specific, believe it or not. I just wanted to make it a proper Need for Speed™ car. That meant creating an outrageous and aggressive body kit you wouldn't ever expect to find on such a car. Hence me going a little crazy when it came to the widebody and rear wing design. Never did I actually think it would be brought to life!
I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work on such a car, and I hope that everyone at Polestar doesn't hate me too much for what I've done with it!*
*Editor's note: we don't. In fact, we think it's awesome. What's also awesome is how Daniel Covarrubias is bringing Khyzyl's designs to life in his Los Angeles studio. See the gallery for more.
