Faraday Future's FFZERO1 Electric Supercar Touts 1,000 HP

Concept cars are like double edged swords – their alluring visuals are mostly non-compatible with the practicality of real-time production. Well we would hope Faraday Future’s FFZERO1 supercar goes against trend, simply because of its touted credentials that boast 1,000 horsepower, a 0-60 mph (0-96 km) acceleration in less than three seconds, and a top speed of over 200 mph. All of these ‘figurative’ figures, supposedly powered by a quad core electric powertrain, come after the company had been working under the wraps for more than a year.

The exhilarating features are complemented by the futuristic design model of the concept car. This translates to an encapsulating glass roof that provides a tantalizing glimpse into the carbon-fiber flaunting interior. And beyond just the classy visuals, the FFZERO1 electric supercar will come with a smartphone mount arrayed in the middle of the steering wheel, accompanied by the Halo Safety System that safeguards the driver’s head and neck and provides a special helmet for crucial water and oxygen supply. Moreover, the proximate dashboard is dotted with a biometric data gathering system that ‘keeps an eye’ on the driver’s vitals.

Of course all these aspects still belong in the realm of gimmicks. But on the practical side of affairs, there is one feature that has tickled our fancy. This pertains to what Faraday Future touts as the Variable Platform Architecture (VPA). Envisioned as highly flexible platform, the company plans to use it as the customizable core system around which modular components can be installed, thus resulting in variant models of automobiles (with different numbers of electric powertrains). As Nick Sampson, a senior VP at Faraday, said in an interview with Verge –

We can change the number and power of the drive systems. We can change the physical size and electrical size of the battery packs, so we can get bigger and larger packs and smaller packs both on the electrical size and physical size because of the modularity of how the battery architecture is being done, which is unique compared to anybody else in the industry. The underlying story is all about the platform that’s being built.

This scope of adaptability also translates to the FFZERO1 concept in question. For example, the electric supercar (with a total of four motors) utilizes strings of batteries that can be adjusted – by detaching or adding the rows of batteries. Furthermore, the placement of the motor can also be altered within the ambit of the platform, which in turn would allow the user to choose between a front-wheel, rear-wheel, or an all-wheel drive.

Lastly, as for the commercial side of affairs, there is no doubt that the FFZERO1 concept will give a sweet little PR boost to Faraday’s $1 billion production facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada. But the question of a ‘real car’ still dangles in the air, with the company expecting to furnish a navigable model within a couple of years.