Six Mind-Blowing Electric Concepts From the Shanghai Auto Show
While the Geneva Motor Show displayed the fastest and sportiest electric cars to date, the Shanghai Auto Show focused more on futuristic sedans. Coming for Tesla's crown, numerous Chinese automobile manufactures unveiled new concepts and updated builds of their upcoming electric cars.
BMW gives us a closer look at the living room on wheels with the Vision iNEXT, Icona delivers a windowless concept, while the WEY-X provides a holographic assistant and a new way for drivers to communicate with other cars without rolling down the window. Take a look at several mind-blowing electric whips coming from the Shanghai Auto Show below.
Wey-X
From Virgil Abloh's Louis Vuitton Keepal bag to the Samsung Galaxy S10, iridescent colors continues to become a popular trend in 2019. WEY, a Chinese sub-brand of Great Wall that focuses on SUVs, reaffirms the popular colorway with their new electric concept simply called "X."
The X is more than just an iridescent look, it's actually a high-end tech beast. It includes facial recognition, a holographic assistant, and exterior screens instead of a grille meant to convey messages to nearby cars. The car also has a range of 710 kilometers (440 miles) on one charge and is designed for Level 5 autonomous driving.
XPeng P7
Many electric sedans were shown off at the auto show but the one that caught our eye the most is the XPeng's P7. The car is expected to hit 600 kilometers (373 miles) on a full battery and achieve 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds. The P7 will also feature the company's XPilot, an advanced driver assistance system that uses Nvidia's Drive Xavier chip. Deliveries for the P7 will start in the second quarter of 2020. Move over, Tesla.
Geely Preface
Geely Auto, the largest privately-owned Chinese brand, unveiled the PREFACE Concept sedan in Shanghai. The brand’s first high-end sporty sedan, the concept is designed with strong proportions and a very aggressive aesthetic. It has a wide wheel track and balanced wheel to wheel arch relationship, resulting in both muscular shoulders and powerful fenders. The grille has been made wider and taller. To accentuate its sporting attributes, a slight recess has been added to the grille, giving it an extra visual bite. Clamshell doors with frameless windows add a high-tech futuristic element and visual charm.
Qiantu K50
No it's not a new Bugatti, it's the Qiantu K50. This curvaceous electric two-seater is made mostly of extruded aluminum, with carbon fiber body panels and a baked-in color-resin system. The hatch is another non-carbon-fiber composite material, in a somewhat rippled gloss-black.
Under the hood, the K50 has 430 total horsepower, with 160 kw of output at each of the front and rear motors. It can also hit 60 mph in an estimated 4.2 seconds, with a top speed of 125 mph. Qiantu's new electric beauty is rumored to be released in the USA in October 2020.
BMW Vision iNEXT
If there's one concept car from the auto show that we want to see on the open road, it's BMW's Vision iNext. The emission-free, fully electric and highly autonomous whip is a butler on wheels.
It will feature an always-on personal assistant capable of learning a driver’s routines and habits in order to plan a daily schedule including battery charge stops. Plus, the windshield will double as an augmented reality screen. Not sure how practical that is, but we're here for futuristic tech.
BMW says the first production model of the Vision iNext will be built in 2021. We hope that's true.
Icona Nucleus
The Icona Nucleus is mind-blowing. It forgoes traditional windows for transparent panels that allow passengers to look out without having the outside looking in. This futuristic vehicle is built as the ultimate self-driving living room that is completely autonomous with six-seats and enough room for passengers to lay down in the back. What more could you want?
For more, be sure to check out our round up of our favorite cars from the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.
