Electric car startup Faraday Future appears to be back on track with development of its first model, the FF91, following a rough couple of years resulting from cash shortages and a senior executive exodus. The company on Monday announced it has completed the first body-in-white for the FF91 at its plant in Hanford, California. It's the first time the electric SUV's unibody structure has been assembled using the same processes and tools destined for production models. Prototypes already on the road have been assembled using highly specialized processes. Faraday Future expects the first customer examples of the FF91 to be ready in December, which means the company will meet its original promise made during the electric SUV's reveal last year to start deliveries by late 2018. Faraday Future FF91 prototype Getting the Hanford site to churn out the first body-in-white involved countless hours from the Faraday Future team and suppliers. The process involved the use of over 1,500 self-piercing rivets for joining of the aluminum body parts, plus aluminum resistant spot welding, cold metal transfer welding, and more specialized resistance element welding for joining aluminum with steel. Faraday Future also uses wireless “transducerized” torque tools for safety-critical points, which the company says is a great help in accuracy and comprehensive error-proofing, as well total process connectivity and traceability. “This is one of many big milestones ahead for FF as we enter the final stage in introducing our new species, the FF91 flagship,” Faraday Future CEO and founder Yueting Jia said in a statement. In February, Faraday Future received a $1.5 billion investment where $550 million was paid directly and the payment of the balance conditional on certain milestones being met. Immediately after the deal was struck, Faraday Future held a meeting with suppliers and teased a second model, an SUV expected to be called the FF81. This then followed with a June announcement that a Hong Kong firm would buy 45 percent of Faraday Future. The FF91 in its most potent guise will offer 1,050 horsepower and a 130-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery good for 378 miles of range. Recent high-speed testing of the FF91 showed the car sustaining a constant speed of 120 mph for 55 minutes.<doc-sep>We haven't heard a whole lot from Faraday Future lately, but that might be because the company's been busy making headway on its first production vehicle, the FF 91. Faraday Future announced today that it has completed the first FF 91 body-in-white, which is now at its new assembly facility in Hanford, California. The body-in-white is basically a raw chassis that's been welded or otherwise put together, before the powertrain, trim or paint have been applied. Enlarge Image Faraday Future Faraday was quick to point out that the FF 91's body-in-white was assembled using all manner of newfangled assembly tech. It uses a special kind of screw that actually joins metals together using heat, as well as a unique kind of welding that allows steel to be welded to aluminum. Of course, the company has a long way to go between producing a naked chassis and actually delivering a car (or, hopefully, multiple cars) to the public. Faraday Future believes that it's still on target to start giving cars to customers in December, and that'll continue well into 2019. The FF 91 first broke cover at CES 2017, when it tore onto the stage in Las Vegas amid a supercell of hype. Its electric motors should produce about 1,050 horsepower, which is enough for a sprint to 60 mph in under three seconds. Roadshow's Jon Wong recently took a trip out to Ohio to hang out with the company as it completed high-speed testing, maintaining 155 mph for three minutes at a time. Faraday Future has not been without its setbacks. After originally breaking ground on a Nevada plant, that plan was trashed in favor of its current setup in Hanford. There were stories about financial woes over the last year and a half, as well, but that should be remedied by the company's recent $2 billion funding round. Hopefully, it'll be smoother sailing between now and December.<doc-sep>Previous Next 1 of 4 Has Faraday Future finally stepped off the roller coaster ride it’s been stuck on since the FF 91’s botched CES debut? After serious financial issues rocked Faraday Future like a ship in a gale, the young California-based, Chinese-backed company spent the first half of 2018 buried deep in an unusual silence. It has emerged from dormancy to announce that it has completed the first FF 91 body-in-white, an industry term used to denote a full, finished body without paint, trim, and interior pieces, or powertrain components. That’s a major step on the path to mass production. Getting there was easier said than done; Faraday explains that the FF 91 uses more than 1,500 self-piercing rivets that hold its aluminum structure together, for example. Faraday also mastered the difficult technique of welding aluminum to steel and incorporated “transducerized” torque tools into the production process to improve traceability, error-proofing, and precision. Faraday notes that it reached this significant milestone slightly ahead of schedule. It still aims to begin series production of the luxurious, all-electric FF 91 in December 2018. The first customers to receive the car will be the ones who reserved it when the order book opened in early 2018. Production will take place in a former Pirelli factory located about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, where the company’s headquarters are located. The specifications sheet hasn’t changed. Faraday Future still predicts the FF 91 will perform the benchmark zero to 60 mph run in under three seconds, a figure that will make it one of the fastest cars in the world. Bugatti’s Chiron does the deed in 2.3 seconds; the limited-edition Dodge Challenger Demon and top-spec variants of the Tesla Model S match that figure. Range? More than 300 miles, according to early estimates. That figure beats the Model S and Jaguar’s I-Pace. Pricing hasn’t been announced. “We will officially announce the pricing later this year. It will be in the premium segment,” a company spokesperson told Digital Trends via email. We expect it will start somewhere in the low six digits. Of course, as Tesla recently found out with the Model 3, turning predictions into a fleet of reliable, high-quality cars is a tall order. Time will tell whether Faraday Future can learn from its rival’s mistakes or if it will fall in the same trap. Update: added FF quote about pricing. Editors' Recommendations<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor motoring tips every driver needs to know Faraday Future burst onto the scene at CES 2017 where it threatened to steal Tesla’s thunder with its eye-watering acceleration of 0-60mph in 2.39 seconds of the FF 91. However, the company has since been plagued with issues of funding and getting production off the ground. Fortunes for the company are, however, now seemingly changing after the firm acquired a new production facility in Hanford, California, which could see it deliver the first versions of the car by December of this year. The company has said it has been taking time since it debuted at CES 2017 to refine the vehicle and it has now accrued a backlog of 64,000 orders to fulfill.<doc-sep>
After two years in the development wilderness, Faraday Future is marching forward toward producing its first ultra-luxury electric SUV. The company announced Monday that it built its first "body-in-white" of the FF91, the basic body structure of its upcoming first production car. Faraday Future plans to deliver the first FF91s to customers as early as December. The body-in-white is the first produced using production tooling at the company's new factory in Hanford, California, a former Pirelli tire factory. Previous prototypes of the FF91 have been more or less hand built. READ THIS: Faraday Future gets a $2 billion lifeline to build expensive crossover Faraday Future was thrown a financial lifeline last month when Hong Kong-based Evergrande Health agreed to invest up to $2 billion in the company and take over from previous investors who had run into financial problems. The new investment apparently got things moving quickly. Faraday Future FF91 body-in-white Faraday had to ramp up complex production of the aluminum body structure, with self-piercing rivets, aluminum-resistant spot welding, and specialized resistance welding for joining aluminum and steel panels." "This is one of many big milestones ahead for FF as we enter the final stage in introducing our new species, the FF91 flagship,” Faraday Future CEO and founder Yueting Jia said in a statement. CHECK OUT: Faraday Future unveils FF 91, its first production electric car; deposits open, no price given The FF91 is expected to deliver 1,050 horsepower to snap the big SUV from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. Its 130-kwh battery will be good for 378 miles of range, the company said. In testing, a prototype sustained 120 mph for 55 minutes. All this performance won't come cheap at an estimated price of more than $300,000. Faraday Future says it will follow up the FF91 with a smaller, more affordable FF81 but little else is known about the company's second model.