But the larger question of whether Faraday has a future is still unanswered
Although it still remains to be seen if it can cough up enough money to finish building its factory and to fund all the other things carmakers have to fund to build a car, potential electric car maker Faraday Future showed off its first production vehicle, in Las Vegas two nights before CES. The new, segment-busting luxury car/hatchback/wagon/crossover/SUV thingy is called the FF 91.
Looks are certainly subjective but this one is perhaps not what a reasonable person would call sexy. At least not as sexy as, say, a Tesla Model S or even a Lucid sedan. It looks a little more practical, like your date who has a “great personality.” Our first impression was that it looked like a 1980s Ford Ghia or Frua concept that had escaped from a car museum, an A-ha CD stuck on repeat in its audio system. But the FF 91’s shape gives it a cd of just 0.25 outside and loads of room inside, where it’s rated at 151 cubic feet.
The FF 91 has some other remarkable specs. Consider a 130-kWh battery (a Mitsubishi iMiEV electric car, by comparison, has a 16 kWh battery), big enough to give the car an EPA “adjusted” range of 378 miles. Cruise at a steady 55 mph and range goes up to 482 miles.
There are three electric motors driving the awd 91, one in front and two in the rear. They are all 3-phase permanent magnet motors. Combined output is listed as 1050 hp, another remarkable spec. Two other measures are 783 kw and 1800 Nm. How much is that?
“That’s an insane amount,” said vp of propulsion engineering Peter Savagian.
Zero to 60 is listed at 2.39 seconds, which Faraday proved to the assembled masses Tuesday night in Las Vegas by launching everything from a Bentley Bentayga to a Ferrari 488 GTB just to show theirs was quicker. Interestingly, when Faraday flashed the 2.39 figure on the screen it showed that it was for a speed of 61.3 mph, suggesting that the FF 91 is even quicker than the listed 2.39 seconds to 60.
The FF 91 (pronounced nine one) is a sort of half-minivan, half-hatchback-looking thing with a pair of back seats aimed at making one or two executives very, very comfortable. So comfortable in fact that we have to think this car was made for and aimed at the Chinese market first. Back seats are important in China and other Asian markets where executives like to be driven around in style. Hence, many automakers that sell in China create special stretch versions of their luxo-sedans just for those guys. We got to sit in the back seat of this Faraday a few weeks ago at a press preview and didn’t want to leave the coddling, massaging confines of that rear seat.
“Noooo,” we moaned, like one of those fur-ball animals you see getting cuddled on YouTube videos. “Not yet.”
But the FF 91 is more than just a back seat. On that same press preview we were taken through all of Faraday Future’s many departments, and it takes a lot of them to build a car. Let’s go through each one. First we got the overview from Nick Sampson, senior vice president of vehicle, technology engineering and R&D.
“We don’t put ourselves across as an automobile company,” said Sampson. “We’re about extreme technology. We imagine ourselves in the future and what we’ll need. Our mission is to think and act and create in ways that most people can never imagine. Our vision is to liberate everyone to live and breathe freely.”
No small task, but that back seat’s a good start.
Sampson also spoke about the depth of Faraday’s product plans, which appear to be built on a single, modular platform.
“Faraday Future’s platform will be both two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, with extended-range platforms and various power options,” Sampson said. “We’re using an intelligent modular approach to get a range of vehicles through variable platform architecture.”
He promised the new car would have “…the performance of a sports car whilst also having the agility and feel of a smaller car.”
Indeed, we got a ride in a 91 on an improvised autocross course and found it was very, very quick. You can do that with electric cars. But neither did it flop around in corners, though we did hear the outside front tire squealing during hard cornering.
Next we heard from Angus Lock, senior manager of aeodynamics R&D.
“We wanted something that was both beautiful and aerodynamic,” Lock said. “Aerodynamics is important but you also have to take into consideration an effective cooling system. On the computer we could morph the shape to optimize drag, improve cooling or address any of several different aerodynamic properties.”
They’ve had FF 91 models on a 40-percent scale wind tunnel in Indianapolis and will move to a full-scale rolling road wind tunnel in North Carolina.
Meraj Ahmed, director of vehicle engineering, pointed out that Faraday uses CAE, computer-aided engineering, to meet all crash-test requirements for different markets around the world. We saw computer simulations of door intrusion crashes, roof crush tests and 35-mph frontal impacts. CAE also aids in reducing vibration, increasing torsional resistance and maintaining durability. So Faraday is in the modern world of car design.
Sohel Merchant, senior director of packaging and seating, showed us that back seat. If you can sit in one at an auto show, do it.
Hong Bae, director of ADAS and self-driving, showed us the pop-up LIDAR that will sprout from the hood when the Faraday Future is going in autonomous mode. The technology used for autonomous driving will include that 3D retractable LIDAR, 13 long- and short-range radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors and 10 high-definition cameras. Exactly when and at what level that autonomy will be deployed was not clear, but a valet parking mode, where you stop the car, get out and the car parks itself without you will be available “soon after launch,” Bae said. We saw a demo of it in the Faraday parking lot and yes, it parked itself. Unfortunately, another demo on Tuesday night took two tries to make the car drive forward on its own and park. Inside,
“It’ll be the most-connected vehicle on the market,” Merchant said. “It’ll have near-broadband connectivity. You can stream movies. Your Bluetooth phone will open the door as you approach the car. FFID carries your personal information regardless of where you sit in the car.”
The old-school glass rear-view mirrors will be replaced with a high-resolution mirror display. The heads up display will be “industry-leading.” Cameras at every seating position will recognize who’s sitting there for greater personalization of the driving or riding experience.
Now, all Faraday has to do is come up with enough cash to carry it all off. That subject was pretty much ignored Tuesday night before CES opened. But it will have to be addressed sooner or later. We hope sooner. This looks like it will be a success if they can just start making them.
A source: autoweek.com
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