The Zeekr 001 FR can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.07 seconds, making it the fastest production all-electric vehicle.
Zeekr, the premium electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary of Geely Holding Group, has unveiled a high-performance variant based on its first production car, the Zeekr 001 shooting brake, to show off its technological muscle.
Zeekr officially unveiled the Zeekr 001 FR (Future Road) electric supercar at a launch event in Ningbo, Zhejiang province last night, saying the model can sprint from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 2.07 seconds, making it the fastest accelerating mass-produced pure electric vehicle.
The Zeekr 001 FR is powered by four electric motors that deliver up to 1,265 brake horsepower and a top speed of 280 km/h.
The Zeekr 001 FR outperforms the Model S Plaid, a Tesla sedan with a peak power of 1,020 hp that can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.1 seconds. Though in terms of top speed, the Model S Plaid is the higher with 322 km/h.
The announcement of the Zeekr 001 FR means that Zeekr is delivering on the company’s promise to “goodbye to dull EVs” when the Zeekr 001 is unveiled in April 2021, it said.
Zeekr began accepting reservations for the Zeekr 001 FR last night, with a deposit of RMB 30,000 yuan ($4,130).
The Zeekr 001 FR’s price has not been announced, although Zeekr said when it previewed the model on August 10 that the Zeekr 001 FR would sell for more than RMB 1 million.
Deliveries of the new Zeekr 001 FR will begin in October 2023, with a limited production run of 99 units per month, Zeekr said at yesterday’s launch.
Each user will receive a personalized training session to get used to driving the high-performance vehicle, the company said.
Zeekr announced on Weibo last night that it had received 99 pre-orders for the model just 15 seconds after it started pre-sale.
Zeekr was officially launched as a standalone company in March 2021, and the Zeekr 001 was launched on April 17, 2021. The model’s deliveries began in October 2021.
There are currently four versions of the Zeekr 001 on sale, two of which start at RMB 269,000, and the other two at RMB 319,000 and RMB 349,000, respectively, following Zeekr’s announcement on August 11 of significant discounts available before the end of the year.
Previously the four models started at RMB 300,000, RMB 300,000, RMB 349,000 and RMB 386,000 respectively.
Only one version of the regular Zeekr 001 is equipped with a single motor and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds, while the other three versions are equipped with dual motors that can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds.
The Zeekr 001 FR is based on the 800 V high-voltage system and is Zeekr’s first model built on the 800 V platform. The company’s other models including the regular Zeekr 001, Zeekr 009 MPV, and Zeekr X SUV are built on the more common 400 V platform.
The Zeekr 001 FR is powered by Zeekr’s in-house developed high-performance SiC permanent magnet synchronous motors, which allow for up to 1,265 horsepower, according to the company.
The model is equipped with torque vectoring control technology that monitors the speed of the four motors in real time throughout the vehicle’s journey and controls the torque output of each wheel independently, Zeekr said.
With these technologies, the Zeekr 001 FR is capable of tank turns with less than 20 cm offset from the center of the circle, the company said.
The Zeekr 001 FR is also equipped with satellite communications technology, which will enable satellite messaging and satellite voice calling services by the end of the year, enabling it to communicate with the outside world in areas without regular network coverage, Zeekr said.
Battery power for the Zeekr 001 FR comes from a 100 kWh CATL Qilin battery pack, which is already in use elsewhere in the Zeekr portfolio.
Supported by an 800 V high-voltage platform, the Zeekr 001 FR can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in 15 minutes, Zeekr said.
The Zeekr 001 FR’s cockpit is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, which Zeekr said is the first time the chip has been used in a production vehicle.
At yesterday’s launch, Zeekr also unveiled a V3 supercharger, which it said is the highest output charging pile available.
The charger has a maximum power of 800 kW, a maximum output voltage of 1000 V, and a maximum output current of 800 A, according to Zeekr.
Zeekr plans to mass-produce the supercharger by the end of 2023 and begin putting it into service in the first quarter of 2024.
Zeekr launched the Zeekr Power brand on August 30, 2021 for its operational energy replenishment business and on September 28, 2021 put its first charging station into operation. It currently has the fastest charging chargers available with a maximum power of 360 kW.
Zeekr said it aims to add 450 new supercharging stations across the country this year, with a short-term goal of expanding the network to 1,000 supercharging stations by 2024. The company did not announce plans on 800 kW charging stations.
($1 = RMB 7.2616)
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