It’s technology that, as Business Insider’s Ben Zhang reports, will eventually find its way into real, road-going cars once Faraday Future actually puts one or more of them on the road “in a couple years time”, according to FF research and development exec, Nick Sampson.
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Faraday is part of a group of Chinese-funded start-ups hoping to capitalize on disruption in the auto industry amid global regulatory demand for electric or hybrid vehicles, a growing trend of connectivity in cars and a sharp rise in interest in mobility alternatives, such as Uber.
The concept car’s interior features a single seat, which holds the driver at a 45-degree angle to promote circulation. The secretive electric-car startup, bankrolled by Chinese Internet billionaire Jia Yueting, hired away engineers from Tesla and SpaceX to build a hype machine worthy of an Apple launch.
The FFZero1 by Faraday Future is displayed at CES Unveiled, a media preview event for CES International Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, in Las Vegas.
Faraday, which intends to move “very fast” on plans like building a fancy factory near Las Vegas, was founded 18 months ago.
If you want a closer look at your future Batmobile you can download the free Faraday Future Concept app here.
FFZERO1 is based upon Faraday Future’s Variable Platform Architecture (VPA), a modular engineering system “optimized for electric vehicles”.
Billed as a “high performance electric dream vehicle”, the FFZERO1 packs 1,000 horsepower and the ability to act like “an extreme tablet on wheels”.
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) has a head start in the luxury electric vehicle market, but could it soon be seeing new rival Faraday Future in its rearview mirror? Since the technological platform on which the FFZERO1 Concept is build is easily modifiable, we can expect sedans, SUVs and even a Faraday pickup in the not-too-distant future.
Faraday claims 15 per cent more battery capacity than the 85kWh cell in the top Tesla Model S, which is capable of around 430km of all-electric range; that would make Faraday Future’s electric vehicle travel around 500km on a full charge.
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The plant is set to break ground in the coming few weeks and is expected to create 4,500 new jobs including professional and manufacturing jobs in the region. The company is still shopping for a battery supplier, he said.
