Despite having lost two of its highly-publicised executives, electric vehicle (EV) startup Faraday Future is showing no intentions of slowing down, dropping two teasers on its social media platforms. The crossover SUV featured in the teasers, FF’s “first production car,” is scheduled for debut at January’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The crossover itself has been seen several times before, and we’ve even speculated on its mirrors… or lack of. The latest release from FF shows off its mirrorless capabilities, describing conventional mirrors as antiquated relics. “Mirrors can warn you, but they can’t save you,” the release reads. “They can reflect, but they can’t react. We need something sharper.” Right.
As it stands, only a handful of countries have formally permitted the sale of mirrorless cars in their markets, like Japan. Europe will soon join the list of accepting nations, while the United States has only just approved mirrorless technology for 2018. As such, there’s a strong likelihood that FF’s crossover will be billed as a 2018 model-year car, as not to upset regulators.
Mirrorless tech has been around for a long time, funnily enough, though it’s never really gained traction until very recently. Cameras tend to eliminate blindspots entirely, which is one of the biggest bugbears of mirrors. And the digital imagery means that it can compensate for glare, low-light, and situations where visibility can be problematic, like during rain or fog. On top of that, camera systems are smaller and lighter than mirrors, which reduces drag, making the cars they’re fitted to more streamlined and aerodynamic.
In the second of the two teasers, FF follows up on an earlier video, where we saw the FF crossover take on the Bentley Bentayga, Ferrari 488GTB, and Tesla Model X P100D on a drag strip. However, some detractors have called it a bit of a farce, because the Tesla they lined up wasn’t the strongest contender in the competitor’s lineup. FF has responded, by lining up the fastest accelerating production electric car in the world, the Tesla Model S P100D, and showing it who’s boss.
Read our earlier reports on Faraday Future’s teasers, and our observational piece on the business end of the firm. For more information on the company, stay tuned.
