Faraday Future’s FX Super One – FUNNY FACE

Faraday Future’s FX Super One

FUNNY FACE

Los Angeles, CA – Given that, for the last 45 years, I’ve been an inhabitant of the ‘burbs (in way too many zip codes), heading downtown – whether in DC or Los Angeles – is loaded with mixed emotions. I’m well past the point where I enjoy traffic, and if parking isn’t easily identified I don’t enjoy casting about for a convenient spot. So, when receiving the invitation to attend the global launch of Faraday Future’s FX Super One it was a mixed blessing; it was in downtown Los Angeles – a one-hour drive in rush hour traffic – but the presentation was on top of a parking garage. One out of two ain’t bad…

Michael Faraday, whose studies of electrochemistry and electromagnetism were groundbreaking, died in 1867; as you’d guess, he had nothing to do with the automotive initiatives of Faraday Future in this century. Like any number of EV entities riding the coattails of Tesla, Faraday Future’s product announcements have been greeted by an appropriate amount of fanfare, but – to date – little else. (The company’s FF91, of which just 16 examples were produced, is the only tangible representation of Faraday’s corporate footprint.) And if I can’t fill in the blanks regarding Faraday Future’s past, know that our evening in downtown Los Angeles was focused on the company’s future.

That future apparently will be jumpstarted with the 2026 launch of the FX Super One, a luxury MPV – a minivan to you and me – with two motors, all-wheel drive and a FACE (Front AI Communication Ecosystem) that Michael Faraday would have absolutely loved. 

Attendees were asked to check in at 6:30, and while awaiting the formal introduction – which began at about 7:45 – I was able to catch up with familiar faces from the media pool. Of about 200 attendees, I recognized three: Mark Vaughn (Autoweek), Stephanie Brinley (S&P Global) and Nathan Adlen (The Fast Lane and Autoblog). The balance looked to be a broad mix of investors, influencers and the inevitable hangers-on. And relative to me, they were all younger, taller and more attractive. 

Once the presentation was underway, Faraday CEO Matthias Aydt provided an overview, Faraday founder YT Jia went more granular, and for those with interests in social media, Faraday brought to the party both racer Lindsey Brewer and Cody Walker, an actor and (notably) the late Paul Walker’s younger brother. There’s not a lot you can say about an electric minivan, but Matthias, YT, Lindsey and Cody managed to say a lot. 

The focus was on that FACE (Front AI Communication Ecosystem, in case you’ve forgotten). And given that AI leads many newscasts, I’m sure there will be those that appreciate it. I was more interested in the platform and price point. The design – absent the ‘FACE’ – is relatively benign, while the price point will reportedly sit between $60,000 and $90,000.

As the father of three, Cody Walker mentioned his interest in a luxury EV MPV, and saw the FX Super One as the first. While knowing he’ll invariably get his own Super One once in production, in the interim he might visit a Chrysler showroom and look at that company’s Pacifica Plug-in. In ‘Pinnacle’ trim it’s luxurious – and comes with its own dealer network. 

With only two hours of free parking, I left as the Faraday cast was getting their group photo. I thought about crashing the pic, but again – too short,  and still less attractive.

For more detailed info on the upcoming FX Super One, visit the company website:
https://www.ff.com/us/fx/super-one/