Troubled electric vehicle startup Faraday Future rolled out running prototypes of its new flagship CUV in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd in Las Vegas on the eve of CES on Tuesday night, at one point pitting the vehicle against a Bentley Bentayga, Ferrari and two Tesla models in 0-60 mph (97 km/h) runs.
Despite a spate of recent setbacks, including high-level executive departures and rumors the company is running out money, Nick Sampson, senior vice president-R&D and Engineering, boldly promises the company of 1,400 employees is going to reconstruct the auto industry and “reformat” the way the world looks at mobility.
Dubbed the FF 91, Faraday Future claims the luxurious CUV makes 1,050 hp and can go 0-60 mph in just 2.39 seconds, slightly better than the fastest Tesla, although it was a bit slower in the demo run. Range is claimed to be 378 miles (608 km). Pricing has not been announced but published reports suggest a sticker of about $180,000.
Among the more interesting features are electric suicide doors that open automatically when they recognize the owner’s face and a 3D Lidar system that pops out of the hood when needed to do tasks such as autonomously finding a parking space.
In one video demonstration streamed from a remote site a prototype FF 91 successfully found an open spot in a lot and backed itself into a parking space, but in a demonstration later in front of the live audience with billionaire Jia Yueting, Faraday Future’s main investor, the car did not respond, causing Sampson to explain the FF 91 was being “shy.”
Other features of note include a roof, rear and side windows that all use polymer dispersed liquid crystal glass that will provide instant privacy or shade simply by tapping on the glass.
And the facial recognition technology will not only recognize faces, but also facial expressions and moods that can be used to automatically prompt a user experience to match, using music, temperature, scent, content and seat massage settings.
The strategy for marketing and selling the vehicle was not discussed but company officials say it will be available in 2018, and they are soliciting refundable deposits of $5,000 even though the $1 billion assembly plant that will build it currently is just a patch of graded dirt. Work on the new factory has been paused because of money issues.
