Faraday Future unveils an actual car

By Roberto Baldwin From engadget

No more weird concept vehicles for the automotive startup.

It’s happened. Faraday Future has unveiled its high-tech electric FF 91 SUV. Interested parties can place a refundable $5,000 deposit on the car right now, with production starting in 2018. With a range of 378 miles (it has a 130kWh pack), all-wheel drive, all-wheel turning and 1,050 horsepower, it clearly has the Telsa Model 3 in its sights.

In addition to going really fast (zero to 60 in 2.39) and having a long range, the FF 91 is filled with displays, cameras and seats that recline like a first class airline. The company has also followed the weird doors without going full gullwing with rear suicide-doors and a Lidar puck that pops up from the hood when the FF 91 is in autonomous mode. But Faraday really wanted to note that its cars are entertainment systems.

The car has multiple modems for non-stop broadband and two WiFi hotspots. With a person’s personalized FFID, the car will know exactly what you want to watch or listen to when you enter the vehicle.

The car also wants to take care of you once you leave the vehicle as well. At the unveiling event, the company demoed a self-parking feature that let’s drivers get out of their FF 91 it drives off in search of a space in a parking lot. It’s pretty cool for people who love the mall.

After a tough few months of reports that the car company was have trouble acquiring additional funding and the loss of some key executives, today’s unveiling couldn’t have come at a better time for the startup. On stage, Senior VP of Engineering and R&D Nick Sampson said: “We’re not stopping with automotive. We’re a technology company reformatting the future of mobility.”

At the event the company showed a video of the first phase of its Arizona factory. With the FF 91 going into production in 2018, the automaker says that its Variable Platform Architecture means it can build any size vehicle by extended or shortening the battery pack and center frame.

Unfortunately for the FF 91, there’s no actual price for the car or word on what sort of trim packages it’ll have. But at least it’s an actual car. Now we just wait to see if makes into the garages of drivers. The company seems ready for the challenge. “Despite all the naysayers and skeptics, we will persist,” Sampson said as today’s event drew to a close.

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Source: Faraday Future

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