Shanghai-based electric car maker NextEV introduced the electric supercar, the Nio EP9 on Monday at its first launch event held in London. The EP9, with a record-breaking lap-time of 7.05 minutes around the Nürburgring of Nordschleife in October, is now the fastest electric car in the world, NetEase Tech reported.
As a supercar, the EP9 boasts a 1,390 horsepower engine, and has four electric motors and four gearboxes. It takes a mere 2.7 seconds to accelerate from standstill to 60 mph (97 kph), and 7.1 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 124 mph (200 kph).
In addition to a swappable battery system, the EP9 can be charged within 45 minutes to run a maximum of 265 miles (427 kilometers). There are five different driving modes, and drivers can set a preferable one from the steering wheel.
The interior of the car is well furnished, with four cameras collecting data for cloud services. Additionally, the EP9 also supports autonomous driving, with NextEV having obtained an autonomous vehicle testing permit from California, according to NetEase Tech.
Li Bin, chairman and co-founder of NextEV, said that the cost of an EP9 is about USD 1.2 million. In 2017, NextEV will introduce its electric cars to mass production.
“We are willing to share our technologies concerning aerodynamics, powertrain (components that transmit the drive from vehicle’s engine to its axle), and battery management systems,” said Li.
Founded in November of 2014, NextEV now has a base in 12 cities worldwide, including in Shanghai, London and Münich.
Among its over 2,000 employees are developers and engineers from high-tech companies such as Google and Apple; its investors are well-known entrepreneurs or enterprises such as Tencent, Lenovo, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, and the founder of JD.com, Richard Liu.
Li Xiang, known for having founded Autohome, the largest automobile consumer news platform in China, is a major investor and co-founder in NextEV as well. He told NetEase Tech that NextEV has been developing the sophistication of its electric drive control systems to world-leading levels. He said, “a smartphone is more than a mobile phone – it is a better phone. Likewise, an electric smart car is more than a car.”
(Top photo from NetEase)