400km/h Hongqi S9 hypercar draws near

A plug-in petrol-electric hybrid hypercar rival for the Mercedes-AMG ONE that combines US, Chinese and Italian know-how has been revealed in near-production form.

After last being shown off as a concept at the Shanghai auto show last April and first being revealed in Frankfurt in 2019, the Silk-FAW 2023 Hongqi S9 made its latest appearance at Milan Design Week.

Punching out more than 1000kW, the S9 is the first model from a new joint-venture and will be the only model not all-electric.

It will be built at a new factory in Italy’s ‘motor valley’ at Reggio Emilia, not far from Ferrari.

Another model dubbed the Hongqi S7 will also be built at the new plant, while smaller S5 and S3 model ranges will be built in China.

If all this sounds like a bit of a pipe dream, the partners involved lend credibility to the project.

Undoubtedly tipping in much of the €1 billion ($A1.6bn) development budget for the car, brand and Italian factory is Chinese auto giant FAW (First Automobile Works). It has sold vehicles under the Hongqi brand since the late 1950s. 

The Italian-American engineering and design firm Silk EV is providing its expertise to the joint-venture, legendary former Volkswagen Group styling chief Walter de Silva leads design, former Ferrari technical director Roberto Fedeli is chief technical officer and former Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa is a special adviser.

To be powered by a 4.0-litre V8 engine and three e-motors the Hongqi S9 punches out an impressive 1043kW.

Driving all four wheels via an eight-speed auto, torque vectoring and a rear electronic differential, it claims a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 1.9 seconds and a top speed over 400km/h.

It also accelerates from 0-200km/h in six seconds and from 0-300km/h in less than 11 seconds.

The S9 uses an 800-volt system and the pure-electric range is about 20km.

Just 400 examples of the Hongqi S9 are forecast to be built over three years, with the first of them due to be assembled in 2023.

Each example is expected to cost €2 million ($A3.2m), making the S9 a logical opponent for not only the AMG ONE, but also the Aston Martin Valhalla and McLaren Speedtail.

“The S9 has a long tail as it has to reach very high speeds. Despite this, we managed to achieve elegant proportions that follow the principle of design purity,” said de Silva.

“Depending on the driving mode chosen, the driver will have access to specific features. When you are on the track, you do not need to have a layout like the one designed for city driving.”