Faraday Future is taking on Apple Car with a Batmobile

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Faraday Future's concept car looks like a batmobile.
Faraday's FFZero1 is out of this world.
Photo: Faraday

Cult of Mac CES 2016 full coverage No, that car you see above is not a real Batmobile — but it is just as exciting. Built by Faraday Future, the FFZero1 is a concept smart car that’s back from the future, with a 1,000-horsepower electric engine that goes from zero to 60mph in under three seconds.

We’ve all been waiting for the rumored Apple Car, which is expected to blow us away with futuristic design, an all-electric engine, and more technology than you can shake a stick at. But Faraday Future, which is also based in California, has beaten Apple to it.

The FFZero1 is a race-car, so it only has one seat, and it’s capable of reaching speeds of up to 200mph. “Aero tunnels” built into the car’s body reduce drag to help it achieve those speeds, while also cooling its giant batteries.

The car has a smartphone integrated into its steering for onboard navigation and other useful information, and a helmet that provides its driver with water and oxygen. That helmet also uses augmented reality to project directions onto the road ahead in real-time.

The bad news is, this is just a concept, so it won’t actually go on sale. However, Faraday Future is using planning to use the FFZero1’s underlying structure and technology to build salable electric vehicles that will take on the likes of Audi, BMW, and Tesla.

What’s really interesting about Faraday’s “variable production architecture” is that it’s modular, so it can be used to build vehicles of all types, with anywhere from one to four motors, battery packs of different sizes, different types of wheelbases, and other components.

Faraday plans to brings it first vehicles to market in 2018. It’s investing more than $1 billion in manufacturing, and hiring 4,500 workers to make it all happen. The FFZero1 may be another Batmobile you can’t actually buy, then, but variations of it will be available very soon.

Source: International Business Times

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