Is Faraday Future for real?
DETROIT, MI - Is Faraday Future for real?
It certainly seems that way, after the 18-month-old company unveiled an ambitious, 1,000-horsepower electric sports car Monday night in Las Vegas ahead of the International Consumer Electronics Show there this week.
The company, backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, kept most of its specific plans under wraps leading up to Monday night's reveal.
At the livestreamed event a team of PR people, designers and at least one executive - most of whom had been poached from prominent automakers - made the case for why their upstart electric car company represented the future.
They unveiled the sharply lined FFZero1, a stylistically abrupt vehicle that drew some comparisons to a "Batmobile."
The FFZero1 has 4 quad motors that propel it from 0-60 miles per hour in 3 seconds, according to the company. It has a top speed of 200 miles per hour.
It's a fully-connected car, and many of its functions could be controlled by a smart phone.
It is just a concept, though, and any mass-produced car by FF would likely only borrow certain elements of it, unless FF moves ahead with a high-end sports car, rather than a Tesla Model S competitor, as many in the industry have suspected.
"As a concept car this vehicle confirms Faraday's advanced engineering capabilities," said Karl Brauer, senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book, adding that is bizarre seating arrangement, huge horsepower and likely steep price would limit its volume to a few hundred units.
"But the car adds credibility to the young EV company," Brauer said. "If Faraday is on the cusp of creating a real-world vehicle with more conventional design and performance elements, and with substantial autonomous features, it could be a serious automotive entity in a relatively short time frame."
The company said it plans to to start selling its cars in a couple years. It's about to build a $1 billion factory in North Las Vegas, where it says it will employ at least 4,500 people.
The move is aided by a $335 million incentive package from the state of Nevada. FF is based in Gardena, Calif.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook.