The NIO EP9 is the 'world's fastest' all-electric supercar
It's the kind of car Bruce Wayne would drive on the weekend.
NextEV, despite its name, hasn't built your next automobile. At least not yet. Instead, it's created a (somewhat) eco-friendly monster capable of beating the Nürburgring in a staggering 7 minutes and 5 seconds. That, the company claims, is quicker than the previous EV lap record, making it "the fastest electric car in the world." Big talk, wouldn't you agree? It's called the EP9 and is the first car to be launched under NextEV's new "NIO" brand. The company says further vehicles and products will follow, making NIO more of a lifestyle brand than a straightforward car manufacturer.
The sleek two-seater has four onboard motors and four individual gearboxes, capable of delivering 1 megawatt of power to the wheels. For speed freaks, that means 0 to 100KPH (62MPH) in 2.7 seconds. It will also do 0 to 200KPH (124MPH) in 7.1 seconds and 300KPH (186MPH) in 15.9 seconds. The EP9 can't, however, complete a quarter mile stretch in under 10 seconds (at 10.1 seconds, it's pretty close however.) Sorry Dom, but you'll have to go back to your Dodge Charger for now. The complete car weighs 1735KG, with 635KG devoted to batteries alone. Those power packs are interchangeable too, with a fresh set lasting 427 kilometers (265 miles).
You probably haven't heard of NextEV before. The little-known Chinese company was set up in 2014 and has been quietly competing in Formula E. The upstart team won the championship in its first year with Nelson Piquet Jr in the cockpit. Much of the vehicle's engineering has since been adapted for the new EP9 -- hence the focus on raw performance. With the equivalent of 1360 PS (1340BHP) under the hood it's certainly a race track beast, giving Tesla's top of the line Model S plenty to think about. Heck, Audi's R8 e-tron and the Rimac Concept One should be worried too.
Fancy buying one? You're out of luck. As AutoExpress reports, NextEV is only building six cars and they've all been snapped up by the company's founders. Each one reportedly costs $1.2 million to build, so only the most deep-pocketed individuals could have afforded one anyway. Thankfully, NextEV is promising another launch sometime in 2017 -- a regular production car (maybe a Model 3 competitor) that should be a tad cheaper.
