In the summer of 2008, a guest came to the Space X factory in Los Angeles, USA.
Elon Musk showed the guest his “big rocket” and invited him to join the team.But his responsibility is not to launch rockets for Space X, but to design the first mass-produced car, the Model S, for Musk’s Tesla. This “guest” is Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer.
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Musk and von Holzhausen
In the old aircraft hangar next to the Space X factory, von Holzhausen designed the original Model S for Musk – this car,Although it has a conservative appearance, it has the hard-core technical genes of Space X in its bones, and is known as the “suited thug”.
Since its release in 2009, the Model S has been the ceiling of the electric vehicle industry for a long time, and it has also been a model for many car companies to imitate. After the 2021 generation change, the three-motor version of Model S Plaid has once again refreshed the upper limit of the capabilities of electric vehicles. The success of the Model S is that as its flagship model, it has helped Tesla establish a superior brand image.
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Musk and von Holzhausen
However, with several rounds of price cuts this year, the Chinese myth of Model S has begun to decline. At the same time, Chinese car companies also took the opportunity to launch new models that compete with the Model S, trying to weaken Tesla’s “halo” with stronger parameters and lower prices.
Among them, the Ji Krypton 001 FR, which was launched on October 27, is priced from 769,000 yuan – one more motor than the Model S Plaid, but the price is nearly 60,000 yuan cheaper. The so-called FR does not mean harvesting the “rich”, but the English abbreviation of Future Rosds.
Photography: Huxiu
“First of all, let’s be clear, 001 FR actually does not make money.”
According to An Conghui, CEO of Jikrypton Intelligent Technology, the existence of Jikrypton 001 FR seems not to make money, but only to break the technology monopoly. He said: “We car builders have feelings, and feelings are very important. Why have performance cars and supercars been monopolized by foreign brands? Why can’t Chinese brands make breakthroughs in this regard? This is the first day of Ji Krypton’s car manufacturing Just something to think about.”
Friends and businessmen, can’t we make it in five years?
At the 001 FR press conference, Ji Krypton made a statement that shocked the industry: “Friends, we won’t be able to produce it in five years!”
Just looking at this PPT page can indeed easily cause controversy. Although Jikrypton 001 FR has beautiful book data and is the first to use four-motor distributed electric drive, vehicle-mounted satellite communications and other technologies, it is not “far ahead” in the industry.
For example, the most critical top speed of a performance car, the 001 FR can reach 280 km/h on the domestic track, which is the same as the domestic certification value of the Model S Plaid. Another example is the unique in-situ U-turn function of the four motors, which BYD has been showing off in its U8 for almost a year.
Regarding the controversy that “it cannot be built within five years”, An Conghui gave an explanation at the communication meeting.
He believes that it is “relatively difficult” to build a supercar, “relatively difficult” to build a luxury car, and “relatively difficult” to build a very excellent SUV. The so-called “relatively difficult” refers to becoming a benchmark product in the market. But today, it is “very difficult” for Ji Krypton to combine the performance of a supercar, the space and passability of an SUV, and the comfort and safety of a car into the 001 FR.
As for how this “five years” was calculated, An Conghui also explained, “The capabilities of Ji Krypton 001 FR stem from our initial thinking about Haohan Architecture. Eight years ago, when the Haohan Architecture project was established, we planned products, 800-volt high-voltage systems and multi-motor layout solutions. Therefore, if friends want to be like Ji Krypton, they want to create a product that has a technical foundation and combines the advantages of multiple models. The first is the development of the architecture. I think It will take at least five years.”
Putting aside the controversial remarks, it is worthy of recognition that Jikrypton 001 FR has indeed done something to break the technological monopoly – it has brought the experience that can only be found in million-level performance cars and even million-level supercars to a consumer The price is acceptable to the buyer.
First of all, it allowed Sanden Technology to break through the ceiling.
For example, the Tesla Model S Plaid only uses three motors, using a combination of one in front and two in back. The U8 uses four motors, a combination of two in the front and two in the back, but the two front motors in the Uplook are more like “string” together like two batteries. Thanks to the chassis space advantages of SUVs, the U8 can easily fit four motors, but the sedan Model S can only fit three motors.
Disassembly of the front dual motors of Jikrypton 001 FR
The reason why Jikrypton 001 FR can be packed with four motors is indeed because of the inherent advantages of the vast pure electric architecture, which leaves enough room for evolution. Like the 001 FR’s four motors, it adopts a “parallel front and series rear” layout. The R&D team reduced the width of the front dual motor assembly to 558mm to ensure the rigidity and support of the front suspension while obtaining stronger power; the front dual motors also achieved optimal noise control through a unique left and right reducer frequency avoidance design .
More importantly, 001 FR is equipped with the world’s first mass-produced four-silicon carbide 800V high-voltage system. Each motor is equipped with a separate silicon carbide electronic control module, so that the combined output power of the four motors can reach up to 956kW. Matching the 100kWh Kirin battery with a maximum charging rate of 4C, the FR battery can have a discharge power of megawatts.
Finally, the PTM 2.0 global thermal management system dissipates heat for the battery, ensuring its peak power output for 12 consecutive times without attenuation. After 8 consecutive uninterrupted accelerations and stops, the internal temperature of the battery cells only increased by 3.6 degrees during the vehicle test.
Photography: Huxiu
Secondly, it brings the chassis of Chinese cars to a higher level.
For a car, the hardware is just the ingredients. To cook a good meal, it depends on the skill of the chef. Like many Chinese car companies, they have been particularly keen on finding European teams to cooperate in chassis tuning in the past two years.
It is undeniable that the chassis performance of the three cars currently on sale is second to none in the industry. But for a high-performance car like 001 FR equipped with hard-core equipment such as KW original custom shock absorbers, AP Racing ten-piston forged aluminum brake calipers, Brembo carbon ceramic perforated brake discs, you still need to find someone who can drive it. .
Therefore, Ji Krypton found “the best driver in the world” – F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
Photography: Huxiu
As the first European car owner and the chief performance consultant of Jikrypton 001 FR, Raikkonen participated in the development and adjustment process of Jikrypton 001 FR, constantly exploring the potential of FR.
An Conghui mentioned: “Raikkonen’s F1 championship driving experience and his understanding of the car are very unique. When he participated in the development and tuning of 001 FR, he keenly discovered that our front axle has many technical capabilities. It can be further optimized.”
Therefore, Jikrypton invited Raikkonen not only to bring traffic to the new car, but more importantly, to allow consumers to truly experience the same driving experience as the F1 world champion.
Finally, it allows intelligence to truly change driving.
Like traditional fuel-powered performance vehicles, the cost of modification and adjustment is very high, and it is even more difficult for “non-RMB players” to get started. Jikrypton’s approach is to use intelligent means to make the threshold for car play lower.
At the press conference, An Conghui and Kimi Raikkonen jointly launched the world’s first world champion-Raikkonen model that uses intelligent algorithms written into the car, copying the experience and ability of the F1 champion to all 001 FR car owner.
Perfectly integrating the F1 world champion’s rich track experience and skillful skills into the intelligent drive system, Raikkonen mode not only brings a maximum horsepower increase of 1,300 horses to the 001 FR, but also improves the 9 Each parameter has been specially customized and adjusted, giving users a real opportunity to have the same driving experience as the “F1 champion”.
In addition to the Raikkonen mode of “becoming an F1 driver with one click”, 001 FR also provides track mode, ejection mode, and overclocking mode. Like the newly added “ejection mode”, its starting time is 0.02 seconds faster than normal acceleration. Of course, the most interesting thing is the “overclocking mode”, which turns the “nitrogen acceleration” function in racing games into reality, allowing the maximum horsepower to explode instantly.
There is also a very detailed design in the smart follow-up seat of 001 FR.
The bucket seats of many performance cars will provide side clamping, but Ji Krypton will provide unilateral support according to the steering wheel rotation. For example, when turning left, the right side wing will be clamped to provide support. The entire dynamic response is within 0.1 seconds, allowing the driver to achieve the integration of the driver and the vehicle in the most comfortable sitting posture. Such small details show that JiKr deeply understands the value that intelligence brings to driving pleasure.
Selling luxury cars at a loss, what are you trying to do?
Even with a price as high as 769,000 yuan, 001 FR still loses money. In terms of BOM cost, whether it is the R&D cost and procurement cost of the three-electric system, or the cost of chassis materials from top suppliers, the vehicle price obviously cannot cover it. Judging from the sales volume, Jikrypton 001 FR is only delivered in a limited quantity of 99 units per month, which is only more than a thousand units a year.
Therefore, the launch of Jikrypton 001 FR is not like selling a car honestly, but like a successful event marketing. But it is still unknown how much it can help Ji Krypton’s market sales and brand image.
At least, the long-awaited facelift model has been suppressed again.
On the Jikrypton 001 FR, in addition to performance evolution, the three most important upgrades are: the addition of lidar, the car chip upgrade to Qualcomm 8295, and the introduction of an 800V high-voltage platform.
If these three major upgrades were directly applied to the facelifted model of 001, they would be enough to instantly kill many products from new car-making forces.
Photography: Huxiu
Appearance-wise, Jikrypton 001 FR does not have reference value due to the addition of a large number of carbon fiber kits, but the interior has indeed changed a lot. For example, the central control screen has been replaced with a new 2.5K flexible OLED screen; for another example, the buttons on the multi-function steering wheel have been changed to physical buttons, canceling the original touch buttons that were commonly complained about; also, the four automatic doors have been cancelled. The handle opening method is replaced by a button opening method, which is more in line with the use logic of automatic doors.
Photography: Huxiu
As a model released in April 2021, Ji Krypton 001 is somewhat difficult to sell in this era of extreme involution. Although the monthly delivery volume of Jikrypton’s three models can be stable at more than 10,000 vehicles, it still relies more on the stimulation of user rights and interests to maintain stable growth in orders. Relying on user rights to force orders is obviously not a long-term solution.
In this regard, Lin Jinwen, vice president of Jikrypton Intelligent Technology, said that 001 can still fight. He said bluntly: Ji Krypton 001 has been chased since its debut, but it has almost never been surpassed. The design of 001 is still timeless.
“Based on our pace, 001 will not have facelifts or iterations before the second half of next year.”
Jikrypton CS1E reported online (picture source: Gao Zhuan Youth)
It is true that Jikrypton’s new car that will be unveiled at the end of this year and the two new cars that will be launched next year are actually the products that really help the brand grow in volume. An Conghui explained the pace of new product launches this way: “Jikrypton’s goal of developing a product is very clear, and it must be a benchmark for market segments. This is the principle standard of our product development, and it has even been rooted in the corporate culture. . To become a benchmark in the market segment is to meet our expectations. On this basis, we hope to further expand the market.”
To put it bluntly, Ji Krypton’s current play style is to expand breadth first and then expand depth. Li Auto’s strategy of “building depth first and then expanding breadth” has taken two completely opposite paths.
Then again, the goal of the Ji Krypton brand has always been not just to pursue short-term sales results in the Chinese market. Under the large-scale system of Geely Group, it will be difficult for Ji Krypton to shoulder the burden of sales in the short term. “Creating the world” is its main mission.
Photography: Huxiu
“Jikrypton’s goal is to strive to become a global brand and a respected brand. This is our mission.” An Conghui said bluntly that in the automotive industry, the industry has determined that it must be international and global. “I’m very excited today because I think today’s release of 001 FR has given Chinese cars a major breakthrough in performance cars and supercars.”
As for the influence of 001 FR in the global market, An Conghui used a “story of Ji Krypton and Raikkonen” as support——
In short, we have seen too many “Tianji horse racing” using high-performance electric cars and supercars like Bugatti to accelerate from 0 to 100 mph. But what really makes the F1 world champion obsessed with a Chinese car and willing to tune it with his own hands – this kind of story is not only loved by Chinese car fans, but also can find a large audience around the world.
After all, who wouldn’t want to own the same model as the F1 champion driver?
write at the end
Even though the Tesla Model S is no longer firmly on the throne, it is still Musk’s cash cow.
In China, after several price cuts, the Model S still has a starting price of nearly 700,000 yuan. In the first three quarters of this year, nearly 16,000 Model S/X models were delivered globally. Even if they can’t withstand many revenue tasks, Model S/X will be eye-catching as long as they are placed in the exhibition hall. As long as a few more consumers spend money to buy Model 3/Y, the business will make a lot of money.
For Jikrypton, achieving the annual sales target of 650,000 vehicles by 2025 is already a certainty.
Next, in addition to squeezing the traffic of F1 world champion Raikkonen to the extreme, Ji Krypton will also have to use more brains and work harder on new products and intelligence. Finally, if there is pressure on short-term orders, instead of focusing on the mathematical problems of user rights, it is better to launch a “Champion Edition” like BYD.