乐视法拉第汽车发展路径仍不明朗

这几天，一些全球汽车巨头的高管聚在美国拉斯维加斯一间拥挤的篷房，只为一睹期待中的未来汽车。

那里展示的是法拉第未来（Faraday Future）的概念车。这家神秘电动汽车制造商，被部分市场人士视为特斯拉的真正劲敌，由此引来业内关注。外界对这家新公司所知甚少，只知道其背后是中国互联网界大佬贾跃亭。也正因为如此，这款车在一年一度的国际消费电子产品展的压轴亮相备受关注。

法拉第所在的篷房设在一片占地0.06平方公里的停车场，通常用来开展户外节日庆祝活动。亮相当晚，包括赛车领域在内的一些汽车业高管和媒体工作者都挤进篷房，想看一看炒得火热的法拉第是不是真的是新一代汽车。

结果众人没能尽兴而归。

这倒不是因为法拉第没亮出新型“重磅武器”。现场发布了该公司的单人座电动概念车FFZero1，方向盘内置智能手机，最高时速可达322公里。法拉第努力强化传递给观众的讯息：这是一款有志于改变行业版图的概念车，公司拥有深厚的人才储备（目前全球员工720人），还与贾跃亭麾下有娱乐视频网站乐视网是天然盟友。

在当天的讲话中，法拉第主管产品研发的高级副总裁尼克•桑普森回顾了iPhone如何改变人们交流和生活方式。“那就是我们法拉第期望做到的。”说这话时，桑普森的口气里并无一丝讽刺。

但“期望做到”和真正去做完全是两回事。一些在场的观众看上去很失望，因为法拉第的概念车并不具备更务实、更适合现实上路的特征。相反，该车驾驶舱内饰全部白色，还为驾驶者配有可输氧送水的头盔，显然是从美国国家航空航天局（NASA）汲取了不少灵感。概念车应该用来展现超前创意，主要是在设计、技术和功能性方面。即便概念车的某些特色最终可能应用于量产车型，但看起来不应该跟普通的量产车型差不多。

而且对号称特斯拉对手的Faraday Future来说，其对未来的把握能力实在成为令人生疑。我在车展上一再听到有人问：“法拉第到底要做什么？”

这场隆重的展示提供了许多线索，却没有明确的方向。

Executives from some of the world’s biggest automakers gathered in a packed tent in Las Vegas on Monday night to see what they hoped was the future.

Faraday Future, that is. The mysterious electric automaker has captivated the industry for being what some call a true rival to Tesla Motors. Little is known about the young company, which is backed by Chinese Internet billionaire Jia Yueting. Which is why its star turn at CES, the annual consumer electronics industry trade show, was so hotly anticipated.

Auto executives (including some from the racing world) and members of the press squeezed into a tent pitched on a 15-acre lot, typically used for outdoor festivals, to see if the hype surrounding Faraday Future would truly be the next new new thing in automobiles.

They were left wanting.

Not that Faraday’s presentation lacked fireworks. The company unveiled its FFZero1, a futuristic, single-seat electric vehicle concept car with an embedded smartphone in the steering wheel and a top speed of 200 miles per hour. The car aimed to reinforce Faraday’s message to the audience: that it had a transformative vision, a deep pool of talent (now 720 employees globally), and an alliance with Yueting’s online entertainment company LeTV.

In a speech, Nick Sampson, Faraday’s senior vice president of research and product development, recalled how Apple’s iPhone had transformed the way people communicate and live their lives. “That is what we at Faraday Future are looking to do,” he said without irony.

But “looking to do” and actually doing are two different things. Some audience members seemed disappointed that Faraday Future’s concept car didn’t contain more realistic, road-ready features. (In contrast to its NASA-inspired all-white cockpit and driver helmet that delivers oxygen and water to the driver.) Concept cars are meant to showcase ideas, of course—for design, technology, and functionality. They’re not meant to be production vehicles, even though some of their features could wind up in a production model.

But for a so-called Tesla rival, Faraday’s focus on the future was interpreted as a weakness. The question I heard again and again was, “What is Faraday Future actually going to do?”

The big reveal provided many clues, but not one clear direction.

桑普森谈到，法拉第如何利用新方式将人类与更广阔的世界联系在一起。他说，新汽车会有无人驾驶功能，但对细节避而不提。法拉第表示，由于这款车的新型车架简化了制造流程，缩短了研发与生产的时间，生产速度会比传统汽车厂商快得多。

然而，想要拨开“连接性”、“革新”、“颠覆”、“重新定义出行方式”等热词组成的迷雾，看清楚法拉第的发展路径，还是十分困难。

Sampson talked about how Faraday wants to find new ways to connect people to the larger world. Its car will have autonomous features, though he was elusive on the details. Faraday says it can execute much faster than a traditional car company thanks to an underlying vehicle architecture that will streamline production capabilities and allows the company to reduce R&D and manufacturing time.

Still, it was difficult to cut through the haze of buzz words like “connectivity,” “transform,” “disruptive,” and “redefining the very nature of mobility” to get a clear view of Faraday Future’s roadmap.

我们能知道的是这些：法拉第计划在美国内华达州北拉斯维加斯的一座工业园修建电动汽车生产厂，占地约29万平米，计划未来几周内动工；我们还得知，当工厂竣工第一辆量产汽车下线时，将会是一款高档轿车，而且销售方式很可能也会创新——可能由多位司机共享产权，也可能允许一位司机单独“订购”，目前两种方式都有可能。

我们也获知，法拉第有许多优秀的员工，有些曾为特斯拉、德国宝马集团和奥迪集团、英国莲花跑车效力。中国亿万富豪、乐视网创始人兼首席执行官贾跃亭则是大手笔挖人的背后金主。

但高大上的愿景不代表一定能成事，至少从这款新车在CES展会上的表现没看出多少潜力。

Here’s what we know. We know that the company plans to build a 3-million square-foot electric vehicle factory in an industrial park in North Las Vegas. We know that it plans to begin work on that site in a few weeks. We know that when the factory is complete and a production car does come off the line—sometime in a few years—it will be a premium-priced car, one that could carry a new business model—shared ownership by several people, or a product that a driver can “subscribe” to. Faraday is open to either.

And we know that the company has many talented people working there, including alumni from Tesla, BMW, Audi, and Lotus. That bench is what has given Faraday Future credibility. The backing from Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, the CEO and founder LeTV, gives it the means.

But the lofty vision lacks meat, at least as judged by its turn at CES.

那么，这款FFZero1会不会在跑车界混出名堂呢？倒是有可能。法拉第介绍新车的当晚，坐在我旁边的是龙之队电动方程式车队的老板杰•潘世奇。他的车队主要参加国际汽联电动方程式锦标赛，参赛的全是电动赛车。潘世奇说，为了参加电动方程式比赛时增加车型，他的车队已经跟法拉第见面谈过，不过很快补充说，他们跟其他很多大的汽车厂商也都谈了。

展会结束人群散去后，潘世奇告诉我，“其实参加电动方程式比赛是个进入公众视野的好方法。对法拉第来说这么走可能会绕一点，不过曲线救国的创业公司也不是这一家。”(财富中文网)

翻译：Pessy

校对：夏林

Could the FFZero1 be a compelling race car? It’s possible. Seated next to me in the tent during Faraday’s presentation was Jay Penske, owner of Dragon Racing, which races in the FIA Formula E Championship, a class of auto racing that uses only electric-powered cars. Penske told me that his team had met with Faraday Future, but quickly added that it has also talked to many other major automakers about adding cars to Formula E.

As the crowd dispersed, Penske said to me: “Ultimately, Formula E would be an interesting way to get into the public market.” That would suggest a long road for Faraday, but it wouldn’t be the first startup to take the scenic route to success.