Geely Zeekr 001 FR: the 1264 horsepower electric shock

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, Tesla Model S Plaid or Lucid Air Sapphire. These electric extremists are now getting competition from China. Zeekr claims pole position with 001 FR – the model will attack in Europ piese auto online.

Geely Zeekr 001 FR: the 1264 horsepower electric shock

The overtaking lane on Electric Avenue is starting to get narrow and the air for factory tuners is getting thicker. While AMG and company are definitely struggling with the transformation, the new heroes from Silicon Valley are getting ahead of them. Now the Chinese have also entered the game: after the Plaid version of the Tesla Model S (1034 hp) and the Lucid Air Sapphire (1254 hp), the Zeekr 001 also appears as an FR and shows its angular rear on models such as the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 (626 hp) or the BMW i5 M60 (601 hp) and even the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT (1109 hp).

Four electric motors with a total of 1264 hp allow for dynamic characteristics that raise the pulse to the sky. While an advanced heat pump cools the battery and electric motors and thus allows for a few more laps on the track, the electric motors pull the wheels with 1280 Nm and catapult the Chinese “runner” in 2.02 seconds to a pace of 100. If you then continue to boldly press the accelerator pedal, you will reach 280 km/h, and thanks to the all-wheel drive, the Torque Vectoring system and the heavy 100-kilowatt-hour battery you will be able to travel at least 550 (according to the Chinese cycle) kilometers in a rather tourist car. Even the brakes – Brembo with carbon discs the size of a large pizza – bite extremely hard.

So people with gasoline in their blood will remember the good old days. And while Tesla and Lucid are rather simple, Zeekr demonstrates its potency through the front and rear bumpers, a large wing on the trunk lid, red brake calipers behind 22-inch wheels. With the exception of sports seats with red Alcantara upholstery, everything else has been removed from the interior. The abbreviation FR is typical of Chinese poetry – Future Roads. For 001, however, you don’t need roads from the future, but a track from the present – albeit located in the industrial zone in the vicinity of Beijing. While on the side of the stands or in the pits you can hear the hum of tires, when you are inside the car you are forced to hear an artificial sound that does not suit today’s times at all. All we can do is wait (if we don’t speak Chinese) for the translation of the operating manual and turn it off immediately.

But what do you not need to know Chinese for? The two steering wheel mode switches that increase driving pleasure. The one on the right, where you can select the driving modes and make Zeekr noticeably sharper. And the one on the left, because the stability control and Launch Control are activated from there. Then, not only is every press of the accelerator pedal transmitted directly to the electric motors, but the driver's nervous system and pulse are also completely changed.

Since the brand image is important, and therefore it must generate attention, the people have a development center at the Nurburgring and want to soon launch this heart-pounding car on the German market. Although the electric car in China costs more than twice as much as the base version, and by this logic its price in Germany is expected to be between 260,000 and 300,000 leva. But in fact the price does not play any role. In any case, the Chinese do not hope for large sales - monthly production will not exceed 99 cars.

CONCLUSION

All electric cars are powerful and fast, but still a bit cool. But it is Zeekr that creates a bridge between the new era and fans with gasoline in their blood. No, not because of the synthetic sound. It is ridiculous as always. But because the FR is not only potent and runs passionately, but also because its weaknesses, unlike the cool Tesla and Lucid, are obvious, but they are viewed differently, as they once were with AMG and company. Thus, the model offers the best of both worlds.

Car parts AutoPower
Car parts AutoPower

The overtaking lane on Electric Avenue is starting to get narrow and the air for factory tuners is getting thicker

Four electric motors with a total of 1264 hp allow for dynamic characteristics that raise the pulse to the sky