Faraday Future unveils concept electric race car

Start-up electric car venture Faraday Future yesterday unveiled a technology-heavy concept race car it plans to develop into a range of connected vehicles that could challenge luxury rivals like Tesla and Audi in the growing global market for non-gasoline cars.

The California-based company, backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, had remained tight-lipped about its plans since its launch 18 months ago. Days ahead of this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it was still to reveal details about its debut vehicle, expected for 2017.

Faraday forms part of a group of Chinese-funded start-ups looking to leverage the disruption in the auto industry caused by stringent emission measures being adopted globally, increasing interest in electric or hybrid vehicles, and the growing connectivity trend in cars.

Jia, founder of LeTV, or Leshi Internet Information & Technology Co, stands squarely at the centre of the new wave of China's electric vehicle (EV) producers.

Jia is also funding Atieva, another California EV start-up, and other EV efforts.

Known for his deep pockets, speculation is rife among investors, about whether Faraday could take on publicly-traded Tesla, although executives insist there was room in the expanding market for both companies.

Faraday's FF Zero 1 Concept, as it is called, looks like a combination of a futuristic Batmobile and a Porsche 919 Hybrid track demon. It is quite simply not a family-friendly machine. According to Faraday executives, the prototype was meant to showcase a modular design approach called Variable Form Architecture that allowed any number of body styles to be built on the same chassis, thereby speeding up the time to market for a range of models.

The company also revealed a battery-pack system, capable of continuous operation; even if one unit failed.

According to commentators, the message the company sent was simple - it had the backing, staffing and much else to emerge as a leading player in the tech-driving automotive landscape.