What I have here is a comparison
between this NIO EP9
and the Rimac Concept One,
in which I had my little, um...
tumble down a Swiss mountainside.
So in the Rimac Concept One,
power: 1,207 brake horsepower.
In this NIO, 1,341 brake horsepower.
Power to weight: in the Rimac is 652 brake horsepower per ton.
In this NIO,
773 brake horsepower per ton.
Oh, good.
So, no pressure, then.
Right. The high voltage system is active.
So here goes. To launch, it's gotta be in drive.
-(WHOOSH) -Left foot on brake, right foot mash the throttle.
Right hand hold that back for one, two, three, four, five.
-Come off the brake. -(ENERGY PULSES)
Urgh! (SCREAMS)
(ENERGY PULSES AND WHINES)
-(TYRES SCREECH) -Sweet Mary Mother of Jesus!
(POUNDING TECHNO)
It's just insanity!
They say it'll do 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds.
0 to 125 in 7 seconds.
7 seconds!
That direct, immediate power you get from these electric supercars
is like nothing else.
It's like one minute I'm here and then bam! I'm over there.
It's like driving a jet engine.
Something else about which I have bad memories.
This is a bad place.
However, there is some good news for people like me.
The brakes.
-(SCREECHING) -Whoa!
That's put everything back where it should be.
My eyes have come forward.
My lungs are on the front again.
Oh.
Now if you want to experience this phenomenal speed for yourself,
you will need two things.
First of all, a lot of money.
Because this costs £1.15 million.
Secondly, a racetrack.
Because it works like that Ferrari FXX -
where you buy the car, they deliver it to a track for you
along with a support team.
You drive it, crap yourself,
then they take it away and hose it out for you.
Since it's an electric car,
you'll be wondering about range.
Obviously if you hammer it round a track,
you are gonna wear those batteries out pretty quickly.
However, on the plus side,
they only take 45 minutes to charge.
On the minus side,
you have to take the batteries out to do it.
And as they weigh 317 kilograms each,
you won't be doing that on your own.
It is a bit more of a faff than say, a can of petrol.
However, if you're an electric petrol head
and you're tempted by the NIO,
you might be interested to know
that it's not short of pedigree.
There's evidence that the people behind this thing
really know what they're doing.
For starters, the outfit that makes the EP9
also runs a Formula E team:
one which won the inaugural championship in 2015.
And until recently,
the EP9 itself held a lap record around the Nurburgring,
with an astonishing time of
6 minutes 45.9 seconds.
Which means it isn't just about going fast
in a straight line.
(ELECTRICAL WHINE)
It has active suspension, active aerodynamics,
torque vectoring - and all of that means only one thing.
(THUDDING DANCE BEAT)
Grip, grippity, grip!
(TYRES SCREECH)
It has a motor in each of the four wheels
for a four-wheel drive system that can be monitored
and controlled constantly by the car's on-board brain.
Add to that, the active aerodynamics on that vast wing
and a diffuser running the length of the car,
it produces more down-force than an F1 car.
(TYRES SQUEAL)
Jesus!
It's like driving an octopus.
There's no doubt that as a piece of engineering,
the NIO is deeply impressive.
And into slingshot!
Ha-ha-ha!
But what I love about it most is that,
thanks to its phenomenal grip,
I could hammer it round our track all day
and still be the right way up.
And from me...
...there is no higher compliment.