Ferrari is going Chinese? It bought a Xiaomi SU7 for 'development of own EV-platform'

I have to admit that it feels a bit weird to see a Chinese electric sportscar that looks like a PorscheLaren exit the Ferrari premises in Bologna. But it happened. We know this, because there are pictures of the event. A Chinese Weibo-user shot some photo’s of the yellow SU7 leaving the factory.

The Weibo’er claims to have checked with Ferrari about the why the Xiaomi was seen there. According to him the Italians bought the Chinese vehicle for research purposes. That’s not strange at all, and happens all the time. Carmakers usually buy cars from competitors to see what they’re made of.

The weird part is that Ferrari thought it would be necessary to take a look at a Xiaomi, which is at best a good EV, but there are better on the market. But even more strange is the fact that the normally very secretive car builder is just telling random Weibo-users that the Xiaomi is bought by them and not only that, it’s being used for research FOR THE NEXT EV-PLATFORM (!). I have a very hard time believing especially that last part. It’s giving away way too much information that Ferrari would never admit.

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The first thought that shot through my mind when I saw the picture of the Chinese EV under the Ferrari sign, was that it probably would’ve been a customer car. Not a car owned by Ferrari. Reading about the claim that it was Ferrari property, my mind shifted to the possibility the Italians were just double checking to see if there is no IP-theft going on. Not the other way around.

I know cars are being bought regularly to be torn to pieces and analyzed to bits, but since the SU7 is still driving, that doesn’t seem to be the case here. At least not just yet. But if the claim is true and it’s a research vehicle, I think it’s not more than that. The claim that Ferrari would be looking to work with Xiaomi on co-developing the platform for their next EV sounds like utter shite.

Can you imagine it’d be good marketing for Ferrari if they’d say that their first fully electric car - that is supposed to be revealed at the end of this year - is being made or based on Chinese tech? I don’t think so. Especially not when that tech comes from a 1 year old brand that ripped off your very own SUV design. But I’m not a marketer, so I might be wrong here.

Looking into the history of Ferrari, it’s clear it’s famous for being pretty independent. It sometimes shares stuff with Maserati or Fiat, but that makes sense, because they were part of the same company. The supercar brand has never worked together with another brand on a whole platform, engine or other mayor part. It’s probably not starting now, let alone with a Chinese car brand that has just started out and hasn’t yet set foot outside the homeland.

So no, I’m not holding my breath for the Ferrari EV to be made in collaboration with Xiaomi. Not even with this sighting and claims that suggest otherwise. I’m however excited to see what the famous Italian marque comes up with to make their electric supercar sell. That is something every other brand has been struggling with up until now. Nobody seems to want a super-EV, especially not the insanely expensive ones.

In other news

Alpine admits to using AI when designing cars. Let’s call it what it is: French laziness. Let AI do the work, while we go and strike for higher pay.

Apparently German Mercedes-tuner Brabus was bored last weekend and decided to give the AMG GT 1.000 hp. That’s where the inspiration ran out, because the car has been named the, wait for it, Brabus 1.000.

Chinese prove it again: self driving cars kill in cities. At least, that is what Chinese sponsored media outlet Dongchedi showed by testing 36 cars 6 in different situations. Sadly, not much relevance to our markets, since most of the cars tested are not available here, and safety laws in China are, let’s say, a bit less strict.

Further proof money can’t buy taste. (Click at your own risk)

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