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First prototype from mystery electric car startup revealed

The company expects to bring its first car to market in around two years time.

CNET / YouTube

THE FIRST CONCEPT model of an advanced electric car has been revealed in the United States.

The prototype FFZero1 comes with a smartphone dock in its steering wheel and is fully battery powered.

The company responsible – Faraday Future – claims that its cars have a modular design, meaning that the same base could be used to create a variety of different vehicles, including pick-up trucks.

Looking not dissimilar to the Batmobile, the car sets out to compete with electric car-maker Tesla, the company founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk which Faraday’s research chief Nick Sampson was formerly an employee of.

Why the mystery?

Questions remain over the structure and ownership of the company, with few concrete details emerging.

Its headquarters sits in a low-profile office to the south of Los Angeles and it is known that there is substantial Chinese investment.

At the event, Faraday confirmed a “strategic partnership” with China-based media and tech firm Letv, but did not provide details about its ownership or even indicate who is its chief executive.

Faraday Future pre-CES Reveal The interior of the FFZero1 concept vehicle Bizuayehu Tesfaye / PA Wire Bizuayehu Tesfaye / PA Wire / PA Wire

The company told AFP that its investors include Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, founder of Letv, which is sometimes described as the Netflix of China.

Faraday Future employees include former executives from Apple, BMW, Google, NASA, Tesla and other prominent firms.

What is supposed to be so great about this car?

The company said it is aiming for an entirely new concept for vehicles with an emphasis on technology and personalization, instead of adapting existing automotive systems.

The car company has also said that it is looking at shared-ownership models for its cars.

Gadget Show Faraday Future Gregory Bull / PA Wire Gregory Bull / PA Wire / PA Wire

Since being founded a year and a half ago the company has employed 750 people and aims to produce its first car within two years.

However, it has faced some criticism from within the industry, with Scott Evans, the associate editor at the Motor Trend news site noting that the innovations being offered by Faraday Future were similar to those offered by other manufacturers. 

With reporting from AFP 

Read: A mysterious startup, the Chinese Steve Jobs and a $1 billion electric-car factory

Also: Mystery surrounds death of top North Korean aide in car crash

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19 Comments
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    Mute Not_Rod_Ten©
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:06 PM

    All those dinosaurs will have died for nothing if the electric car wins

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    Mute M
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:12 PM

    Ok explain.

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    Mute Not_Rod_Ten©
    Favourite Not_Rod_Ten©
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:19 PM

    The self sacrifice of those great extinct animals and plants will be in vain if I can’t use them to power my V8

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    Mute George Salter
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    Jan 5th 2016, 1:06 PM

    Off by a couple of hundred million years. Good effort though…

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    Mute new phone who dis?
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    Jan 5th 2016, 11:56 AM

    This is how far technology has come yet I still can’t get a text back…

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    Mute Beachmaster
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:12 PM

    2018….. Consumers being warned about Chinese cars catching fire while charging.

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    Mute Cathal McDonald
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    Jan 5th 2016, 11:56 AM

    It looks shite

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    Mute GameOverMan
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:47 PM

    Another totally impractical space-age design that we’ll never see on the roads. Why do we keep dreaming up this kind of car? Surely by now we know that the futuristic look is just a sci-fi fantasy.

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    Mute John Collins
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:46 PM

    Looks rubbish. Old cars are way better.

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    Mute Edward Cullen
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    Jan 5th 2016, 1:51 PM

    Nothing in the article about power or weight.

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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:56 PM

    Oh yeah this car will be a runaway success definitely. It’ll be up there with the DeLorean in no time at all. Wow I cant wait to buy one it looks so practical and cool and everyone is gonna want one. This is definitely a red letter day in motoring history… zzzzzz

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    Mute bacoxy
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:02 PM

    Faraday so close!

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    Mute Wilson I'mSorry
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:45 PM

    A hidden front for VW perhaps

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    Mute Gary
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:36 PM

    We have Faraday future and Tesla electric, will it be Volta or Maxwell next, or maybe Ampere, Gauss, Coulomb or Davy.

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    Mute dowthebow
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:51 PM

    Already have the volt, mitsi I think

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    Mute Uncle Denise
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:10 PM

    That tail looks great on the car

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    Mute Mark Sheridan
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:58 PM

    There show casing things that they will use on there everyday cars when production starts. I think the phone in the steering wheel is a very simple but great idea. Some cars these days are like a cockpit of an airplane with that many buttons, climate control, Music system’s, GPS and god knows what else. Most of which is already on a smartphone in one way or another and usually people with them know how to use them.

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    Mute reece plunkett
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    Jan 6th 2016, 3:08 AM

    Good luck getting that over the ramps in ireland

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    Mute Colm O'Leary
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    Jan 5th 2016, 4:13 PM

    I’m just waiting for the apple i-car to be released.

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