Faraday Future FF91 to race at Pikes Peak

Faraday Future unveils its Tesla Model X rival - the FF 91

5 January

Faraday Future has taken the wraps off the FF 91, its first all-electric production car which is set to become a direct competitor to the Tesla Model X.

Revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the FF 91 SUV can do a claimed zero to 60mph in just 2.39secs, which would give it the fastest acceleration of any electric vehicle on the market and around 0.51secs faster than a Tesla Model X. That's down to a 130kWh battery that produces 1036bhp and 1328lb-ft torque, says the company.

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The firm also says the battery has a range "in excess of 378 miles" and can be charged using 200kw fast-charging stations similar to Tesla's supercharger docking hubs. It can be fully charged in less the 4.5 hours using a regular charger at home, it adds.

According to Auto Express, the FF 91 will feature facial recognition for unlocking and "Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal" glass that can be dimmed by the touch of a button for added privacy.

As well as the car, Faraday Future also demonstrated its new FFCTRL app, which allows owners to log their vehicle preferences and personalise their experience. It also lets drivers summon their vehicles and receive real-time status reports from it.

The system is similar to Volkswagen's new ecosystem app, which it announced ahead of CES and enables users to log their person details and even pre-set music before entering the vehicle.

Prices have not yet been revealed for the FF 91, but future buyers will need to put down a $5000 (£4,077) fully refundable deposit. It can be reserved now and the first 300 will be offered an upgrade to the limited-run Alliance Edition.

Faraday Future prototype races a Ferrari, Bentley and Tesla

20 December

Faraday Future has released a follow-up to its drag-race teaser video, with its mysterious prototype beating some of the fastest accelerating cars on the market.

The video shows the heavily camouflaged prototype, which appears to have a similar silhouette to the Tesla Model X, on a drag strip competing with the Tesla plus a Bentley Bentayga and Ferrari 488 GTB.

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It clearly outpaces all three rivals, including the all-electric Model X, which, in its high-power mode, has a zero to 62mph time of around 2.9secs, suggesting Faraday's car will be even faster.

Alphr says pitching the electric prototype against petrol-powered vehicles "has its own issue", as fossil fuel cars "often have slower acceleration times" but have higher top speeds and will "catch up over longer distances".

Little is known about the prototype, which is expected to make its public debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month.

Faraday Future unveiled its first concept, the FFZERO1 supercar, at this year's CES and has since gone on to sponsor the Dragon Racing Formula E team.

Faraday Future teasse compact SUV in new video

13 December

Faraday Future has released a teaser video of its upcoming all-electric platform, which will be revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.

The video shows the heavily camouflaged prototype, which appears to have similar proportions to the Tesla Model X compact SUV, on a drag strip competing against a variety of fast cars, including a Ferrari 488 GTB and Bentley Bentayga.

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Autocar says the cars act as a "clear signpost as to the company's performance target", even though the film cuts before any racing takes place. If the SUV were to out accelerate its competitors, a zero to 62mph of "around 2.7sec would be likely", the mag adds.

Little is known about the prototype, although Ars Technica advises customers to "forget the idea of Faraday Future exploiting some new niche" and instead see the car as a direct competitor to the Tesla Model X.

Faraday Future is backed by Jia Yueting, the chief executive of LeEco, one of China's biggest technology companies, and unveiled its first concept, the FFZERO1 supercar, at CES last January. It also announced plans to produce a range of cars in relatively little time.

Since then, it has gone on to sponsor the Dragon Racing Formula E team during the 2016 season, with driver Jerome d'Ambrosio achieving a podium during the final round, and will feature more prominently during next year's campaign.

Next year's CES takes place between 5 to 8 January.

Faraday Future to reveal first car at CES 2017

21 October

Faraday Future has broken radio silence over its upcoming production car, teasing it'll be seen for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January.

The firm, once thought to be a front for Apple, is backed by billionaire Jia Yueting, the chief executive of LeEco, one of China's largest technology companies, and has ambitions to have an entire range of cars on sale in a relatively short space of time.

It's only previous reveal took place at the 2016 CES, where it unveiled the FFZERO1 Concept, an all-electric hypercar intended to showcase Faraday's scalable electric vehicle (EV) platform.

Since then, it has been getting its name around in Formula E as part of a partnership with Dragon Racing has.

It's not known if the new car will be another concept or, as Electrek predicts, a production-ready vehicle.

The site has published spy shots of what's believed to be the EV testing on public roads, confirming it will be a luxury SUV of sorts to compete against the Tesla Model X.

It also appears to be equipped with at least one Lidar sensor, making it capable of at least some self-driving tasks.

The Drive's Alex Roy, who claims to have seen the car, calls it "far more daring and revolutionary than anything from anyone else" and "the first car truly designed for Luxury Autonomous Mobility".

A Faraday spokesperson told Fortune the car will be "a premium electric vehicle that combines extreme technology, industry leading range, and holistic design".

The 2017 edition of CES kicks off on 5 January.