Called the FFZERO1, the concept car is a single-seat sports car capable of producing as much as 1,000 horsepower. While the prototype seen at CES 2016 doesn’t offer a clue as to what the first production line car will really look like, we can expect the finished and ready to purchase vehicle to be more conservative and practical than the FFZERO1, says TopTechNews.
Single-seat sports car aside, the big news with Faraday Future’s electric car is that it is based on a flexible chassis that can be made longer or shorter. Not only that, but the car can hold a varying number of battery packs, depending on the size of the car.
The chassis is designed to accept from one to four electric motors, meaning the company is planning to build two and four-wheel drive vehicles. “You don’t have to sacrifice anything for being sustainable,” said Richard Kim, head of design for Faraday Future. “This is a 100% sustainable, electric, non-polluting vehicle, and it can be as dynamic as 1,000 horsepower.”
Something really cool is the glass roof that will come standard with the FFZERO1, giving a clear view of the white carbon fiber interior. There is also a Smartphone mount in the middle of the steering wheel, and the driver’s helmet will be used to supply water and oxygen. A specially designed safety system gives support to the head and neck while the instrument panel gathers biometric information on the driver.
The reality is going to bust everyone’s bubble at this point because the FFZERO1 is a prototype and will probably never see the light of day, even though the company is teasingly saying there may be “limited production.” The company is using the FFZERO1 to show the potential of their vehicle’s underlying platform, called “Variable Platform Architecture.”
This platform concept makes the vehicle very customizable, and will be the basis for all Faraday Future cars produced. “That platform is done on a very modular and flexible basis such that we can change the size,” Nick Sampson, Faraday’s senior vice president of research and development and product development told The Verge.
As Sampson pointed out when the FZERO1 was unveiled, “We must anticipate the future and act upon it with speed, decisiveness and a willingness to be more like a technology company rather than an automotive company.” The technology behind the electric vehicle is one reason it was unveiled at CES 2016 rather than the North American International Auto Show in Detroit that started today, running through the 24th of January.
Faraday Future (FF) didn’t come up with the Batmobile-looking FFZERO1 overnight. But after forming the Los Angeles, California-based company just 18 months ago, Faraday Future is already being labeled a major competitor to Tesla. The company, backed by Chinese investors with some serious money, also announced plans to build its cars in a new Nevada facility.
Suffice to say we will be hearing a lot more from Faraday Future in the very near future.
