Polestar 4 Wins Red Dot’s “Best of the Best” for Daring to Ditch the Rear Window

Electric carmaker Polestar just earned a nod from the design world’s upper echelon: the Polestar 4 has been awarded the highest honor in the 2025 Red Dot Product Design competition, the coveted “Best of the Best.” And because Polestar didn’t just win — it won Red Dot — the distinction immediately gained the air of something more than a prize. It’s a title, reserved for products said to “set new standards across industries.” Given Red Dot’s reputation for rewarding excellence in industrial and communication design, Polestar has every reason to lift its chin a little higher.

At the heart of the recognition lies one controversial choice: the Polestar 4 has no rear window. That absence has stirred both admiration and confusion since the model’s debut, but the Red Dot jury saw it as a masterstroke — a “harmony of technical complexity and design clarity.” The bold decision, paired with the car’s ability to merge coupe-like aesthetics with SUV-level spaciousness, won the judges over.

Design-wise, the Polestar 4 doesn’t stop there. Frameless side mirrors, dual-layer headlights and a cabin lighting scheme inspired by the solar system all contribute to a minimalist vision that is tightly laced with technology.

Whether drivers will embrace riding without a rear window remains a separate, open question.