VinFast has been spied testing a modified version of the VF 9 in Europe for the first time. This prototype is quite intriguing. For starters, it has the same overall shape as VinFast’s flagship VF 9 SUV and appears to be roughly identical in size. Things like the glasshouse appear to be the same with the VF 9 but there are some interesting differences spotted in this camouflaged test car. Ordinarily, the VF 9 has relatively simple headlights that somewhat resemble a squashed triangle. That’s not the case with this tester as it instead has the same split headlight design as the smaller VF 8. The front bumper also appears to have been lifted from the VF 8 rather than the VF 9.
Things continue across the SUV’s rear
fascia where the VF 9’s standard taillights have been completely removed and
replaced with a pair of small prototype units. The bumper and skid plate are
also different from the standard model and also appear to have been taken from
the smaller VF 8.
While you could be left thinking that
VinFast could be tweaking the VF 9’s design to better suit European tastes, our
spy photographers claim that this prototype is simply being used to test a
chassis, rather than a model like the VF 9. The emergence of these spy photos
come just a couple of weeks after VinFast announced pricing details for the VF
8 and VF 9 in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Both models can be ordered
with either an 82 kWh battery or an 87.7 kWh battery.
In France, the entry-level VF 9 Eco starts
at € 58,700 (US$ 62,945) for the smaller battery and € 59,150 (US$ 63,427) for the
larger battery while the flagship VF 9 Plus is offered from € 63,650 (US$ 68,253)
for the 82 kWh battery and € 64,100 (US$ 68,735) for the 87.7 kWh option. Customers
of the VF 9 also have to pay a monthly subscription fee of € 150 (US$ 158) for the
battery.
