Words: Jonathan Wells
Just weeks after Ferrari announced that all future supercars would run on hybrid power, NextEV, a Chinese-backed electric vehicle company, have launched a new 1360bhp hypercar.
Called the Nio EP9, just six examples of the model have been built as of yet, with the mainstream vehicle to go into production next year.
All-wheel drive and with four onboard electric motors, this sleek, chic two-seater was mechanically developed alongside NextEV’s Formula E team – and has a combined power output equivalent to one megawatt, or one million watts.
To have something to measure that against, it’s enough to power over 650 residential homes for an hour.
The Nio EP9 can accelerate to 62mph in just 2.7 seconds, and has an eye-watering (but not eardrum-shattering) top speed of 194mph.
What the hypercar has shattered, however, is all previous records set by electric vehicles. Breaking the previous-set Nurburgring record by 17 seconds, and clocking in a time of 7 minutes 5 seconds (just 8 seconds slower than a Porsche 918 Spyder), this truly looks to be the future of speed.
The new model weighs 1735kg and powers its motors using two lithium-ion batteries – that are indirectly watercooled. The batteries take 45 minutes to charge and have an impressive 265-mile range. They’ve also been designed so it’s easy to swap them for new batteries.
The Nio EP9 looks set to come to Britain in the near future, and this is what William Li, founder and chairman of NextEV, had to say about it: “The automotive industry is on the cusp of profound change. In the next decade, the car will be the smartest device that people will own and we want to bring the mobile internet experience to the vehicle.
“Nio is a brand that will exhilarate and delight. It will revolutionise the experience of car ownership for its users, redefining what it means to offer a premium service and product.”
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