Zhiji Auto, a car brand founded by SAIC Group and Alibaba, has shared the test results of its very first production car, an all-electric sedan named the L7. The trials took place in a wind tunnel the company rented from a research institute in China. The drag ratio was proven to be as low as 0.21 Cx – better than even the Tesla Model S. The engineering and design teams had to optimize fifteen body parts of the car including its pillars, mirrors, trunk lid and diffusers to achieve such an impressive result. Compared to the original draft, the final design was found to be 30% more efficient.
The Zhiji L7 was introduced to the public at a special event at the beginning of the year. It uses dual electric motors jointly rated at 544 PS and 700 Nm of torque to go from standing still to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds. Batteries come in sizes of 93 and 115 kWh and offer up to 874 km of NEDC-rated driving range.
Sales start early next year in China, and the company intends to export the sedan to other countries branded as ‘IM L7’. You can also see this ‘IM’ badge on the Zhiji, where it means ‘Intelligence in Motion’.
