Faraday Future's FFZero1 Concept Car: Looks Futuristic, but Can't Run

Described as a "Tesla killer" and likened to the Batmobile, Faraday Future's electric concept car was revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday, December 4. It was hyped over months of speculation only to announce that the car itself may never be more than just a showpiece at the show.

The concept car, called FFZero1, has only one seat, feeds oxygen and water into the driver's helmet, has 1,000 horsepower, and can go from zero to 60 in under three seconds. While it's not the car that the company has promised to produce in its $1 billion factory in 2017, the FFZero1 is a symbol that the company is looking towards the future with designs that are as much about the connectivity and technology in the car as the traditional engine specs.

The FFZero1 is also built on a large skateboard chassis that contains the battery and an electric motor at each wheel that can each reach a top speed of 200 miles per hour. By employing this chassis throughout their lines of cars, Faraday will be able to easily change the size and shape of the vehicle, so the same chassis that supports the FFZero1 can also support a sedan or SUV. 

Faraday's chief designer, Richard Kim, told Bloomberg the idea behind the eccentric design. "It's a serious statement and it showcases what Faraday Future is about."

Tech Insider reported that the car is also able to learn the driver's preferences so it can adjust itself according to who is driving the car. Created with autonomous driving as a focus, the car will also include an embedded smartphone in the steering wheel.

Faraday Future was an electric vehicle startup funded by Chinese Internet billionaire Jia Yueting. Yueting made his money through the founding of Leshi Internet Information and Technology, or Letv, which sells streaming movies and entertainment content and services. Because the FFZero1 also has the Internet-enabled smartphone embedded into its steering wheel, the partnership between Letv and Faraday will allow them to sell specific Internet content to their drivers.

The International Business Times added that, despite all the promises of an improved tomorrow, the car itself does not actually run. The video that Faraday showed at CES was a video of a CGI FFZero1 racing around a fantasy world.

With other automakers are bringing real, drivable electric cars to the market in the next few years, Faraday's eccentric concept car and their big promises on their future lineup don't encourage much confidence in the new automaker. However, their skateboard chassis fabrication model is an interesting idea, one that would revolutionize the market if successfully implemented. The only way to truly find out is to see what Faraday will present as its real production car by 2017.