The world’s fastest accelerating electric car is here

Faraday Future unveils the FF91. Be afraid, Tesla. Be very afraid.

A day before one of the world’s largest annual technology exhibitions, the Consumer Electronics Show 2017, kicks off in the party-central city of Las Vegas, electric vehicle startup Faraday Future dropped a major announcement. They rocked up to the show with a production variant of their first electric vehicle – called the FF 91 – that is also the world’s fastest accelerating electric car.

Faraday Future

Faraday Future

It will go from 0-60mph in 2.39 seconds, trumping its closest rival, the Tesla Model S that does the same sprint in 2.5 seconds. The startup that is a little over two years old has pledged to set up a $1billion plant in Nevada, but that project has faced a few hiccups. This announcement though now means the company and its backers – Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting is among them – can breathe easy.

Details of the car and its features are still sketchy, but for the moment what we do know is that the car will feature loads of high-def large screens in the cabin, be able to seat at least four passengers, and will have that all-important feature for electric cars – an autonomous driving option. There are several cameras, short-range radars and ultrasonic sensors that will come to the aid of drivers. Reportedly, it will also be able to park itself.

Faraday Future

Faraday Future

The 1,050hp car will pack a 130kwh battery – again, that’s better than the best being currently offered by Tesla. It will have an estimated range of 378miles and, importantly, it will be able to charge up quickly – 500 miles in an hour. The car that will go into production in 2018 and the first 300 are already up for pre-order at a price of $5,000.

It’s about time someone took the fight to Tesla.