Chinese luxury brand Hongqi has brought two spectacular concepts to
Frankfurt last September with the S9 hybrid hypercar and the E115 electric SUV. The S9 is finally going into production next year, capped at 70
units. The price? A sweet 10 million yuan (US$ 1.45 million) – which to be fair is
a lot less than the rumored price, which back then was US$ 2.2 million.
In any case, its 10 million yuan tag makes
the Hongqi S9 the most expensive Chinese car in history, and if you think the
price is kind of steep, then here’s a quick reminder of what the company claims
it can do in a straight line.
The S9’s hybrid powertrain features a peak
output of 1,400 HP and a zero to 100 km/h acceleration of just 1.9
seconds. The top speed is said to be 400 km/h. These are pretty
spectacular numbers, and if they hold true, then the S9 will find itself among
the world’s fastest passenger vehicles.
All we know is that the hybrid system is
based on the turbocharged V8 gasoline unit, but if we were to speculate, we
reckon this setup could also feature one or perhaps multiple electric motors
working alongside the internal combustion engine.
We also assume that the S9 will end up
weighing very little, seen as how it has a full carbon fiber construction –
even the wheels are made out of the lightweight material, at least as far as
the concept was concerned.
