Nio EP9

Last updated

Nio EP9
Nio EP9.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Nio
NextEV Nio Formula E Team
RML Group
Also calledNextEV EP9
Production2016-2019
EP9 (50 produced)
EP9 GT (25 produced)
EP9 GT3 Road Version (5 produced)
Designer David Hilton, Ben Payne, Andrew Sheffield [1]
Body and chassis
Class Track day car
Sports car (S)
Body style 2-door coupé
Layout individual-wheel drive
Powertrain
Electric motor Indirectly water-cooled motors (one motor at each wheel)
Power output250 kW (335.25 hp) each wheel
1 MW (1,341 hp; 1,360 PS) total
Transmission 4 individual single-ratio transmissions (one gearbox at each wheel)
Battery lithium ion batteries
Electric range 427 km (265 mi)
Dimensions
Length4,888 mm (192.4 in)
Width2,230 mm (88 in)
Height1,150 mm (45 in)
Curb weight 1,735 kg (3,825 lb)

The Nio EP9 is a battery-powered, two-seat sports car manufactured by RML Group on behalf of Chinese electric car company Nio, not assisted by their Formula E racing division. The name EP9 stands for Electric Performance 9.

Contents

History

Developed and built in 18 months, the EP9 debuted at the Saatchi Gallery in London, England. [2]

Six EP9s have been sold to Nio investors for £ 2,500,000 each. Nio has announced that ten additional EP9s will be sold to the general public.

However, it is not a road-legal vehicle, and none of the 16-production model EP9s were ever registered for road use. The EP9 is purely designed for track use only and does not comply with the laws and regulations to be registered in China. None of the 16-production model EP9s were ever exported and registered for road use outside China so far.

Specifications

Each of the EP9's wheels has its own motor and transmission. Each motor has 250 kW (335.25 hp), giving the car a total power output of 1 MW (1,341 hp; 1,360 PS). The EP9 is both all-wheel drive, [3] and individual-wheel drive. The car has an advanced torque vectoring system that can adjust the power output to each wheel.

The EP9's battery can last up to 427 km (265 miles) before it needs to be charged. Recharging takes 45 minutes, and battery replacement takes 8 minutes as the batteries need to be removed when recharged.

The car is equipped with an active suspension, including a ride height controller that makes 200 calculations per second. [4]

The car's brakes are developed and constructed by U.K manufacture Alcon.

The car's chassis construction is all carbon fibre, and is based on the FIA Le Mans Prototype regulations. The exterior is also made of the same material.

The vehicle's batteries weigh 635 kg (1,400 lb). All of the carbon fibre in the car, in total, weighs 364 kg (802 lb). The total weight of the car is 1,735 kg (3,825 lb). [3]

Performance

The EP9 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.7 seconds, 200 km/h (124 mph) in 7.1 seconds, and 300 km/h (186 mph) in 15.9 seconds, as demonstrated by Richard Hammond in The Grand Tour. The car can achieve a top speed of 313 km/h (194 mph). [3]

The EP9 can also brake at a very short distance, as Richard Hammond (who had compared its acceleration to two vehicles he had famously crashed, a Rimac Concept One and the jet-powered dragster) demonstrated at the Eboladrome.

The car is somewhat capable of autonomous driving, which it did when the car set a record for fastest autonomous driving at the Circuit of the Americas. However, this was only possible because it was configured to drive autonomously.

Design

Nio EP9 SZ Shen Zhen Shi Shenzhen Fu Tian Qu Futian Ping An Finance Centre Ping An Jin Rong Zhong Xin Shang Chang PAFC Mall interior April 2019 IX2 05 (cropped).jpg
Nio EP9
Rear view of the Nio EP9 NIO EP9 rear (cropped).jpg
Rear view of the Nio EP9

The EP9's chief designer was David Hilton, who was also Nio's former senior design director. [5]

Exterior

The EP9's rear wing is adjustable between three settings: parked, low-drag, and high-downforce. [3] The EP9 produces 24,000 newtons (5,395 lbs or 2447 kg) of downforce at 240 km/h (149 mph), similar to a Formula One car, allowing the EP9 to corner at 3.0 Gs. [3]

Interior

The interior, like the exterior and chassis, is made entirely of carbon fibre. [6] There are four screens: one on the driver's side of the dashboard, one on the passenger's side of the dashboard, one on the centre console, and one on the steering wheel. [7] [8] [9]

World records

The EP9 set the record for the fastest lap by an electric vehicle for the Circuit of the Americas, Shanghai International Circuit and the Circuit Paul Ricard tracks. It also set the record for the fastest lap by an autonomous vehicle at the Circuit of the Americas track.

TrackLap TimeReferences
Circuit Paul Ricard 1:52.78 [10]
Circuit of the Americas 2:11.30 (driver)
2:40.33 (auto)
[11] [12]
Shanghai International Circuit 2:01.11 [13]

The EP9 used racing slicks for all of the record attempts.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Dumbreck</span> British racing driver (born 1973)

Peter James Dumbreck is a British professional racing driver from Scotland.

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC)Limited is a British car manufacturer that created Mono, a road-legal sports car with only one seat. BAC is based in the city of Liverpool, United Kingdom, Mono cars are exported to 47 countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren P1</span> Mid-engine hybrid sports car

The McLaren P1 is a sports car produced by British marque McLaren Automotive. It is a plug-in hybrid with a mid-engine layout. It was first shown at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, with sales of the P1 beginning in the United Kingdom in October 2013 and all of the limited run of 375 units sold by November 2013. Production ended in early December 2015. The United States accounted for 34% of the units and Europe for 26%.

Rimac Automobili is a Croatian automotive manufacturer headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, Croatia, that develops and produces electric sports cars – its sister company, Rimac Technology, which is a part of the Rimac Group, also produces drivetrains and battery systems for automotive businesses. The company was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac and now sits under the Bugatti Rimac joint company, which includes both Bugatti Automobiles and Rimac Automobili. Rimac Automobili's first model, the Concept One, was the world's fastest production electric vehicle. During the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in March 2018, the company unveiled its second model, the Rimac Nevera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimac Concept One</span> Motor vehicle

The Rimac Concept One, sometimes stylized as Concept_One, is a two-seat high-performance electric car designed and manufactured in Croatia by Rimac Automobili. With a total output of 913 kW and an acceleration time from 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 2.5 seconds, the Rimac Concept One was claimed to be the world's fastest accelerating electric vehicle in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hilton (auto designer)</span> American automobile designer

David Hilton is an American/German automotive designer working internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric motorsport</span> Category of motor sport

Electric motorsport is a category of motor sport that consists of the racing of electric powered vehicles for competition, either in all-electric series, or in open-series against vehicles with different powertrains. Very early in the history of automobiles, electric cars held several performance records over internal combustion engine cars, such as land speed records, but fell behind in performance during the first decade of the 20th century.

Roborace was a competition with autonomously driving, electrically powered vehicles. Founded in 2015 by Denis Sverdlov, it aimed to be the first global championship for autonomous cars. From 2017 to 2019, the official CEO was 2016–17 Formula E champion, Lucas Di Grassi, who later became a member of Roborace’s supervisory board. The series tested their technology and race formats at FIA Formula E Championship events during 2016–2018. In 2019 Roborace organized Season Alpha, which consisted of 4 trial racing events with several independent teams competing against each other for the first time. In 2020–21 Roborace held Season Beta with 7 competing teams. All teams utilized the same chassis and powertrain, but they had to develop their own real-time computing algorithms and artificial intelligence technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nio Inc.</span> Chinese car company

Nio Inc. is a Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shanghai, specializing in designing and developing electric vehicles. The company develops battery-swapping stations for its vehicles, as an alternative to conventional charging stations. The company has raised over $5 billion from investors. In 2021, Nio announced plans to expand to 25 different countries and regions by 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tesla Roadster (second generation)</span> Upcoming electric sports car from Tesla

The Tesla Roadster is an upcoming battery electric four-seater sports car to be built by Tesla, Inc. The company has said that it will be capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds. The Roadster is the successor to Tesla's first production car, the 2008 Roadster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspark Owl</span> Japanese electric sports car

The Aspark Owl is an all-electric battery-powered sports car manufactured by Japanese engineering firm Aspark (アスパーク), under development since 2018, with the goal of making the fastest accelerating electric car. It will be built by Manifattura Automobili Torino (MAT) in Italy. Aspark plans a production run of 50 vehicles, with a list price of €2.5 million. The Owl was publicly unveiled in concept form at the 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show, and the production version was unveiled in November 2019 at the Dubai International Motor Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimac Nevera</span> Battery electric sports car

The Rimac Nevera is an all-electric sports car designed and manufactured by the Croatian automotive manufacturer Rimac Automobili. The first production prototype car was released in August 2021. Nevera production has been limited to 150 vehicles. Having completed crash testing for homologation, Rimac planned to deliver the Nevera to customers in mid-2022. The first production spec Nevera was delivered in August 2022. Deliveries to the United States started in June 2023. The Nevera is manufactured in the same factory and at the same rate as the Pininfarina Battista, which is based on the same platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen I.D. R</span> Electric race car

The Volkswagen I.D. R also known as Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, is a prototype fully electric vehicle designed as part of Volkswagen's I.D. Project, and included within Volkswagen's R series of cars designed specifically for competing in motorsport events. It is the first electric racing car designed by Volkswagen.

Automobili Pininfarina GmbH is a luxury electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer headquartered in Munich, Germany, with roots in the Italian car design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina SpA. The company also has a design facility and office locations in Turin, Italy. Its first car, the Battista hypercar, has been produced from 2021. It was introduced at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2018, and 150 units are planned for production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pininfarina Battista</span> Electric performance car

The Pininfarina Battista is an electric performance car manufactured by Automobili Pininfarina GmbH which is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with roots in the Italian car design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina. The name Battista is a tribute to Pininfarina's founder Battista Pininfarina. The car was publicly unveiled at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. It is the first Pininfarina-branded car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nio ET5</span> Chinese electric sedan

The Nio ET5 is a battery-powered compact executive sedan produced by Chinese electric car company Nio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMurtry Spéirling</span> Motor vehicle

The McMurtry Spéirling is a record breaking electric single-seat prototype car which was first presented at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2021. The car is developed by McMurtry Automotive, a British registered startup founded on June 2, 2016, by Sir David McMurtry. "Spéirling" is Irish for "thunderstorm".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subaru STI E-RA</span> Motor vehicle

The Subaru STI E-RA is a racing vehicle equipped with a battery-electric drivetrain. It was developed by Subaru's performance and racing division Subaru Tecnica International (STI). The car's initials stand for "Electric—Record Attempt", keeping with STI's tradition of designating its highest-performance models with the "RA" label; a concept car prototype debuted at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyundai Vision FK</span> Motor vehicle

The Hyundai Vision FK is a concept car that uses a plug-in hybrid drivetrain with both a large traction battery and a hydrogen fuel cell; the concept vehicle was developed by Hyundai and Rimac Automobili. The mid-motor, rear-wheel-drive sports coupe was unveiled at the Hydrogen Wave Forum in September 2021, an event organized by Hyundai to outline its plans to popularize hydrogen vehicles by 2040 for "Everyone, Everything and Everywhere". Power is delivered through two electric traction motors, both on the rear axle. The Vision FK can be plugged in to recharge its traction battery, which has more than 60 kW-hr of energy storage capacity, and the onboard fuel cell affords it a range greater than 600 km (370 mi).

References

  1. "Electric vehicle". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  2. DPCcars (22 November 2016), NextEV NIO EP9 With 1341 Horsepower Unveiling , retrieved 23 February 2017
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "NIO EP9 model specification". www.nio.com. NIO. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  4. caroto_gr (27 November 2016), NextEV Nio EP9 - 1 360hp World's Fastest Electric Car , retrieved 23 February 2017
  5. "Design Story: NIO EP9 Supercar: The Brand Ambassador". FormTrends.com. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  6. FIA Formula E Championship (4 December 2016), NIO EP9: The Fastest EV Supercar In The World - Formula E , retrieved 23 February 2017
  7. "2017 NIO EP9 - Image #11". Caricos.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  8. "2017 NIO EP9 - Image #15". Caricos.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  9. "2017 NIO EP9 - Image #17". Caricos.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  10. "NIO EP9 Sets World Record Nürburgring EV Lap Time". MotorTrend.ca. 22 November 2016.
  11. "The Nio EP9 Just Clocked An Autonomous Lap Record, With A Slight Catch". Car Throttle. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  12. "NIO's all-electric supercar reached a top speed of 160 mph and completed record lap without any driver". Electrek. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  13. "NIO EP9 continues to smash lap records". e-racing.net. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.