SHANGHAI MOTOR SHOW: NIO teases pure-electric SUV
Tesla Model X rival follows in the tyre-tracks of EP9 hypercar, will be on sale in 2017Chinese EV-maker, NIO, has teased a single pic of an all-electric SUV that will follow the EP9 hypercar it produced last year.
Teased via this side profile pic ahead of its debut at the Shanghai motor show later this month, it's not clear if the new SUV will be called "Blue Sky" -- or if the clichéd term has been applied to the car-maker itself.
Whatever it's called the new car NIO plans to reveal at the Chinese car show is set to be the EV maker's first mass-produced vehicle.
NIO made just six examples of its 1000kW EP9 hypercar, which set a new electric car lap record of 7:05.120 at the Nurburgring in Germany.
It new SUV appears to borrow design cues from the recently revealed fully-autonomous Eve, a concept that the Chinese car-maker claims will itself be pushed into production some time in 2020.
The new car looks far more conventional but is rumoured to have rear-hinged dihedral doors.
It's not known if the new production car will draw on some of the EP9's pioneering technology, which included four electric motors and four individual gearboxes to drive each wheel.
In any case, it's unlikely the SUV will match the pure-electric hypercar's incredible punch and be significantly slower than the 7.1 seconds it takes an EP9 to reach 200km/h, from standstill.
What the new SUV should have is a pure-electric range of at least 500km and fast-charging capability.
It's also thought the new NIO might also feature some carbon-fibre in its construction, but it won't feature the hypercar's full carbon tub.
More will be revealed on April 19 during its official unveiling.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
