The Chinese dream of supercars has been realized! And it is a truly mass-produced and available domestic supercar. On February 25th, the pure electric supercar, NIO U9, was officially launched by NIO, with a price of 1.68 million yuan. NIO U9 is based on the two major technologies of Easy Four and Yun Chen-X, and has an extremely lightweight carbon fiber body, excellent aerodynamic design, leading intelligent driving assistance system in the supercar industry, and a new way of interaction between people and cars, which can be said to subvert consumers’ perception of supercars. The appearance is cool enough.
U9’s front face adopts the brand’s iconic “Space-time Gate” family design language, with “C” shaped surround LED light strips on both sides of the front face, bringing a strong visual impact. The carbon fiber lower lip not only looks cooler, but also combs the bottom airflow, allowing air to enter the chassis from the front of the car at a faster flow rate, combined with the effect of the rear diffuser, the airflow flows faster under the car, creating negative pressure and firmly sucking the car to the ground.
In addition, the iconic butterfly doors of supercars are also used in the U9. Interestingly, the butterfly doors can be opened by double-clicking the body with your finger joints, and can be automatically closed by double-clicking the door frame, similar to the Huawei phone’s double-tap screen capture. Watch the video demonstration below.
The unique proportions, tension, and sense of power on the side of the body are perfectly interpreted in the sculptural body design. The overall body size is 4966mm/2029mm/1295mm, with a wheelbase of 2900mm, a supercar that is nearly five meters long, similar in size to a bull.
Looking up to the U9 standard self-developed carbon-ceramic brake disc, it has the characteristics of lightweight, high temperature resistance, stability, and durability. Compared to ordinary cast iron discs, the weight is reduced by more than 70%, effectively reducing the unsprung mass. At the same time, its high temperature resistance is increased by more than 90%. Test data shows that even when heated to 1400°C, it can still avoid brake performance degradation. I specifically asked the staff why there are two brake calipers on the rear wheels. The explanation is that the smaller caliper is used for normal driving and only activates when strong braking is needed, while the larger caliper is used for high-speed driving on the track, providing stronger braking force.
Looking up at the U9’s rear design is more impactful than the front, giving the impression that it’s not to be messed with. The 4-speed adjustable electric rear wing can provide up to 200kg of downforce, while the model we experienced had the option of a large carbon fiber swan-neck rear wing, which can provide 280kg of downforce.
The rear diffuser and rear wing design not only provide the necessary downforce and stability, but also offer great aesthetic value.
Looking up, the U9 is equipped with 6 sets of body air channel layout and 12 sets of active and passive aerodynamic kits, able to adapt to different driving scenarios, while achieving a perfect combination of aesthetics and performance in aerodynamic performance. The cabin is luxurious in materials.
U9 offers spacious cabin, dual cockpit, precise layout, 14-way adjustable seats and Denon Platinum Evidence sound system for a more comfortable ride.
Looking up to the U9, it does not use the typical hard bucket seats of a supercar, but instead, it has very comfortable and highly supportive seats. The range of adjustment for the seats is very large, and the seat cushion and backrest are thick, ensuring both support and comfort. The reclining angle of the seat back is also very large, allowing for the most comfortable driving position, making it suitable for daily commuting.
The U9 is equipped with the largest single-shell carbon fiber cockpit in the world, which is commonly used in supercars. It is not only lightweight and highly rigid, but also conducive to extreme handling, greatly enhancing the safety of occupants in the event of a collision.
The U9 overall carbon fiber cockpit adopts T700 grade carbon fiber material, 12K aerospace grade small yarn, and uses hot pressing tank forming technology. The measured torsional stiffness of the whole vehicle reaches 54425N·m/°, and the top cover can withstand a compressive load of over 11 tons on one side. At the same time, the super hybrid structure conducts energy uniformly in the face to mitigate impact force and ensure the safety of the passenger cabin.
The U9 adopts a vertical central screen, which is not large but has a clear display, and important functions can be quickly found and set. The cabin is equipped with the DiLink smart networking system, using a custom 4nm process 5G cabin chip from Qualcomm, which is more intelligent and faster in natural semantic voice recognition.
The U9 is equipped with the DiPilot intelligent driving system, which includes an 800w pixel dual-camera that can scan the road ahead in real time and automatically adjust the suspension. It also comes with standard front and rear collision warning, automatic braking, lane keeping and lane departure warning, as well as active safety features such as easy parking and remote parking, to assist users in daily driving and improve overall vehicle comfort.
The U9 is equipped with advanced vehicle body control technology, featuring the Yunxian-X intelligent fully active vehicle body control system for the first time. This system consists of core components such as electronic control dampers, active power sources, dual cameras, and an intelligent computing center, fully adapted to the high-voltage platform of the entire vehicle. The U9 has a maximum adjustment stroke of 75mm, with a single-axis lifting speed of up to 500mm/s and a maximum lifting force of over 1 ton per wheel, allowing the U9 to even jump in place. With the powerful capabilities of Yunxian-X, the U9 can easily adjust its body posture, effectively suppress the tilting, lifting, and nodding conditions during high-speed sharp turns, rapid acceleration and deceleration on the track, and comprehensively improve the comfort and drivability of the supercar in various road conditions.
In terms of power black technology, the U9 is equipped with the EasySquare power system. It has a maximum horsepower of over 1300Ps and a maximum torque of 1680N·m. According to official data, the U9 has a tested top speed of 309.19km/h, a tested 0-100km/h acceleration time of 2.36s, a 0-400m acceleration time of 9.78s, and a lap time of 2 minutes and 17.65 seconds. In addition, the four-wheel torque vector control quickly and intelligently adjusts the vehicle’s dynamic response, completely replacing the traditional limited slip differential on traditional fuel-powered race cars, achieving the most ideal four-wheel independent torque distribution in one step, allowing for faster and more stable entry and exit of every corner on the track, as well as ensuring safety in daily wet and slippery road conditions. Experience the intelligent cockpit of the U8 luxury edition.
This experience also briefly tested the intelligent cockpit of the U8 luxury version. Like the U9, it is equipped with the DiLink intelligent networking system and uses a custom 4nm 5G cockpit chip from Qualcomm. It can achieve efficient intelligent interaction, with a 300 millisecond wake-up speed and 1 second voice interaction speed. In terms of voice interaction, it supports continuous conversation in all scenarios, wake-up free in the entire vehicle at all times, independent interaction in four sound zones, visible speech, and cross-sound zone command inheritance. In terms of gesture interaction, it can control music playback/collection, open the camera, mute the music, and complement voice interaction through different gestures.
Looking up, the U8 features a 12.8-inch curved screen in the center, a 23.6-inch panoramic screen for the co-pilot, and an equivalent 70-inch AR-HUD screen, along with two 12.8-inch floating multimedia screens in the rear, forming a matrix of five screens. These screens can either synchronize and display information in a neat and uniform manner, or operate independently without disturbing each other.
The most impressive feature of the U8 is the 70-inch AR-HUD, which displays a large and clear image. The AR-HUD upgrades the content from a flat image to a 3D image, and projects real-time vehicle and road information onto the road ahead, allowing drivers to understand the vehicle’s condition and map information in a timely manner, increasing efficiency and reducing safety hazards caused by looking down to check vehicle information.
U9 looks up to the sky with its two core technologies, Easy Square and Cloud Car-X, combined with top industry technologies such as excellent body, aerodynamics, and intelligence, breaking out of the traditional supercar performance and experience framework, bringing users a competitive, streetable, and playable experience, meeting users’ higher emotional value, and redefining the benchmark of supercar value in the new era.