Faraday Future FF91: driving the car that nearly didn't happen

While it’s deceptively easy for companies from all over the automotive spectrum to throw wild specs around like confetti, Breitfeld claimed the aforementioned figures aren’t hypothetical or computer-simulated. They’re the actual outputs his team locked in and achieved during real-world testing. He notably left Los Angeles with a full charge and reached Last Vegas 250 miles later with 110 miles of range left.  

“You find a lot of start-ups who talk about the things they don’t have right now, and we weren’t talking about the things we had. The product is ready. You can sit in it and drive it,” he stressed as he reminisced about the company’s numerous near-death experiences.

The FF91’s Area 51-friendly design attracts a tremendous amount of attention as we navigate the dense pre-CES traffic in downtown Las Vegas. We’re driving a prototype, so fit and finish aren’t on par with a production car’s, yet it’s relatively quiet and rattle-free, which bodes well for the upcoming production model. Keep in mind that, price-wise, the FF91 will be more closely aligned with a Mercedes-Benz S-Class than a Tesla Model 3. When traffic thins, the FF91 accelerates with the silky smoothness and rocket-like speed associated with high-torque electric cars.

We slow down to avoid an unsavoury encounter with Nevada law enforcement officials prowling Las Vegas streets, though the engineer riding with us affirmed the FF91 remains composed at 170mph on the German autobahn. Coming to a stop from higher speeds requires actual use of the brake pedal, but the drivetrain’s regeneration (configurable, of course) is powerful enough to allow for one-pedal driving around town. 

Considering the FF91’s positioning as a smartphone on wheels of sorts, its target audience is more likely to care about the touchscreen’s size and resolution than the powertrain’s output. The software is Android-based, like Volvo and Polestar’s infotainment systems, but the interface is brand-specific, and a big part of the Faraday Future experience. 

Owners will create a profile called an FFID that will store their climate control, entertainment, and navigation preferences, and automatically set them when camera-based facial recognition technology detects who is in the driver’s seat. The passengers’ preferences will also be stored and automatically set, with the obvious trade-off being that your car might end up knowing a lot more about you than some of the people you interact with daily. 

Ultimately, what stands out the most while driving the FF91 is that it’s more concept car-like than any vehicle currently available. Stylists carved out the parts of the dashboard that aren’t needed, relocated the digital instrument cluster closer to the base of the windshield, and installed a thick-rimmed oval steering wheel to create a sense of openness that’s surprising even considering the car’s relatively big footprint. Breitfeld’s claim that space is in Faraday Future’s DNA rings true. It’s a sign the company figured out what it stands for, what’s achievable, what’s important, and significantly, what’s not.