Meet the Faraday Future FF91, the Most Advanced EV Ever (If It Reaches Production)

GREG FINK
Updated

After showing the FFZERO1 sports-car fantasy last year, at the 2016 CES technology show in Las Vegas, Faraday Future came to CES 2017 ready to cash in its chips with the reveal of the FF91—a real, production-ready, all-electric crossover/SUV.

Riding on Faraday Future’s scalable Variable Platform Architecture (VPA), the FF91 casts a shadow very similar to that of a Ford Expedition while sitting on a wheelbase seven inches longer. Thanks to a stated 1050 total horsepower from two rear-mounted electric motors (one for each wheel), plus an available front-mounted motor, Faraday Future claims the big crossover can blast from zero­ to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds. A 130-kWh battery pack created in partnership with LG Chem is said to provide enough juice to take the FF91 an estimated 378 miles between charges, or approximately 63 miles farther than a Tesla Model S P100D can travel. However, the Tesla that the FF91 will be compared to most is the Model X P100D. That all-electric crossover requires a claimed 2.9 seconds to hit 60 mph, and can travel 289 miles on a full charge, according to the EPA.

Like the Model X, the FF91 comes with power-opening doors that are equipped with sensors to avoid scuffing nearby objects, although the Faraday’s front doors open conventionally while the rears are rear hinged. Similarly, the FF91 sports a giant tablet-like screen located between its two front seats. Yet, if Tesla welcomed the benefits of touchscreen technology, then Faraday Future is all-out embracing it. Nearly all physical buttons have been banished from the FF91’s cabin, with even items such as power window and seat controls operated via touch-sensitive TFT screens. The rearview mirror is replaced by a screen, not unlike the unit found in a number of new Cadillacs and the Chevrolet Bolt, but Faraday Future expands the idea by replacing the side mirrors with cameras and merging their video feeds with that of the rear camera to create a rear view free of blind spots (the lack of side-view mirrors being a feature that presumably would need to get an okay from the feds).

Additional tech includes rear-wheel steering and a retractable 3D lidar system that works with 10 cameras, 13 radar sensors, and a dozen other sensors to allow the FF91 to steer itself autonomously. An available Driverless Valet function takes things one step further and allows the FF91 to drop off passengers and park itself in a given space at specific, “verified” private parking lots. (Meaning lots that have been fully scanned by Faraday, although the company hopes to crowd-source scanning of additional lots via privately owned FF91s.) Rocker-panel-mounted lights change color to denote when the FF91 is in autonomous mode. These badges are also used to welcome an FF91 user or display if the vehicle is charging.

In place of a key, entering the FF91 is done by use of a downloadable mobile application or via the car’s facial-recognition technology dubbed Arrival Interface. It uses B-pillar-mounted cameras to recognize the faces of users and allow entry into the vehicle. Additional cameras in the interior rely on similar technology to recognize faces and facial expressions to better cater to driver and passenger needs, adjusting items such as music and interior climate settings. Faraday Future also allows users to create individual driver accounts that can store information such as seating position and preferred climate-control settings—sort of a memory seat on steroids.

Although Faraday Future’s Nevada factory is not yet completed, the company predicts FF91 production will begin sometime next year. Interested buyers are invited to put down a (fully refundable) $5000 reservation for the tech-heavy EV. As an added enticement, Faraday is offering the first 300 individuals who place an order the opportunity to upgrade to a special FF91 Alliance Edition.

The appearance, at last, of the FF91—and its long list of high-tech wow features—goes some way toward dispersing the air of vaporware that has hung over this whole project. Faraday may have a future, but the hard part—putting its EV wonder car into production and establishing a nationwide retail network—is still to come.