這幾天,，一些全球汽車(chē)巨頭的高管聚在美國(guó)拉斯維加斯一間擁擠的篷房,，只為一睹期待中的未來(lái)汽車(chē),。

那里展示的是法拉第未來(lái)（Faraday Future）的概念車(chē),。這家神秘電動(dòng)汽車(chē)制造商,，被部分市場(chǎng)人士視為特斯拉的真正勁敵,，由此引來(lái)業(yè)內(nèi)關(guān)注。外界對(duì)這家新公司所知甚少,，只知道其背后是中國(guó)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)界大佬賈躍亭,。也正因?yàn)槿绱耍@款車(chē)在一年一度的國(guó)際消費(fèi)電子產(chǎn)品展的壓軸亮相備受關(guān)注,。

法拉第所在的篷房設(shè)在一片占地0.06平方公里的停車(chē)場(chǎng),，通常用來(lái)開(kāi)展戶外節(jié)日慶祝活動(dòng),。亮相當(dāng)晚,，包括賽車(chē)領(lǐng)域在內(nèi)的一些汽車(chē)業(yè)高管和媒體工作者都擠進(jìn)篷房，想看一看炒得火熱的法拉第是不是真的是新一代汽車(chē),。

結(jié)果眾人沒(méi)能盡興而歸,。

這倒不是因?yàn)榉ɡ跊](méi)亮出新型“重磅武器”。現(xiàn)場(chǎng)發(fā)布了該公司的單人座電動(dòng)概念車(chē)FFZero1,，方向盤(pán)內(nèi)置智能手機(jī),，最高時(shí)速可達(dá)322公里。法拉第努力強(qiáng)化傳遞給觀眾的訊息：這是一款有志于改變行業(yè)版圖的概念車(chē),，公司擁有深厚的人才儲(chǔ)備（目前全球員工720人）,，還與賈躍亭麾下有娛樂(lè)視頻網(wǎng)站樂(lè)視網(wǎng)是天然盟友。

在當(dāng)天的講話中,，法拉第主管產(chǎn)品研發(fā)的高級(jí)副總裁尼克?桑普森回顧了iPhone如何改變?nèi)藗兘涣骱蜕罘绞?。“那就是我們法拉第期望做到的,?！闭f(shuō)這話時(shí)，桑普森的口氣里并無(wú)一絲諷刺,。

但“期望做到”和真正去做完全是兩回事,。一些在場(chǎng)的觀眾看上去很失望，因?yàn)榉ɡ诘母拍钴?chē)并不具備更務(wù)實(shí),、更適合現(xiàn)實(shí)上路的特征,。相反，該車(chē)駕駛艙內(nèi)飾全部白色,，還為駕駛者配有可輸氧送水的頭盔,，顯然是從美國(guó)國(guó)家航空航天局（NASA）汲取了不少靈感。概念車(chē)應(yīng)該用來(lái)展現(xiàn)超前創(chuàng)意,，主要是在設(shè)計(jì),、技術(shù)和功能性方面。即便概念車(chē)的某些特色最終可能應(yīng)用于量產(chǎn)車(chē)型，但看起來(lái)不應(yīng)該跟普通的量產(chǎn)車(chē)型差不多,。

而且對(duì)號(hào)稱(chēng)特斯拉對(duì)手的Faraday Future來(lái)說(shuō)，其對(duì)未來(lái)的把握能力實(shí)在成為令人生疑,。我在車(chē)展上一再聽(tīng)到有人問(wèn)：“法拉第到底要做什么,？”

這場(chǎng)隆重的展示提供了許多線索，卻沒(méi)有明確的方向,。

Executives from some of the world’s biggest automakers gathered in a packed tent in Las Vegas on Monday night to see what they hoped was the future.

Faraday Future, that is. The mysterious electric automaker has captivated the industry for being what some call a true rival to Tesla Motors. Little is known about the young company, which is backed by Chinese Internet billionaire Jia Yueting. Which is why its star turn at CES, the annual consumer electronics industry trade show, was so hotly anticipated.

Auto executives (including some from the racing world) and members of the press squeezed into a tent pitched on a 15-acre lot, typically used for outdoor festivals, to see if the hype surrounding Faraday Future would truly be the next new new thing in automobiles.

They were left wanting.

Not that Faraday’s presentation lacked fireworks. The company unveiled its FFZero1, a futuristic, single-seat electric vehicle concept car with an embedded smartphone in the steering wheel and a top speed of 200 miles per hour. The car aimed to reinforce Faraday’s message to the audience: that it had a transformative vision, a deep pool of talent (now 720 employees globally), and an alliance with Yueting’s online entertainment company LeTV.

In a speech, Nick Sampson, Faraday’s senior vice president of research and product development, recalled how Apple’s iPhone had transformed the way people communicate and live their lives. “That is what we at Faraday Future are looking to do,” he said without irony.

But “l(fā)ooking to do” and actually doing are two different things. Some audience members seemed disappointed that Faraday Future’s concept car didn’t contain more realistic, road-ready features. (In contrast to its NASA-inspired all-white cockpit and driver helmet that delivers oxygen and water to the driver.) Concept cars are meant to showcase ideas, of course—for design, technology, and functionality. They’re not meant to be production vehicles, even though some of their features could wind up in a production model.

But for a so-called Tesla rival, Faraday’s focus on the future was interpreted as a weakness. The question I heard again and again was, “What is Faraday Future actually going to do?”

The big reveal provided many clues, but not one clear direction.

桑普森談到,，法拉第如何利用新方式將人類(lèi)與更廣闊的世界聯(lián)系在一起。他說(shuō),，新汽車(chē)會(huì)有無(wú)人駕駛功能,，但對(duì)細(xì)節(jié)避而不提。法拉第表示,，由于這款車(chē)的新型車(chē)架簡(jiǎn)化了制造流程,，縮短了研發(fā)與生產(chǎn)的時(shí)間，生產(chǎn)速度會(huì)比傳統(tǒng)汽車(chē)廠商快得多,。

然而,，想要撥開(kāi)“連接性”、“革新”,、“顛覆”,、“重新定義出行方式”等熱詞組成的迷霧，看清楚法拉第的發(fā)展路徑,，還是十分困難,。

Sampson talked about how Faraday wants to find new ways to connect people to the larger world. Its car will have autonomous features, though he was elusive on the details. Faraday says it can execute much faster than a traditional car company thanks to an underlying vehicle architecture that will streamline production capabilities and allows the company to reduce R&D and manufacturing time.

Still, it was difficult to cut through the haze of buzz words like “connectivity,” “transform,” “disruptive,” and “redefining the very nature of mobility” to get a clear view of Faraday Future’s roadmap.

我們能知道的是這些：法拉第計(jì)劃在美國(guó)內(nèi)華達(dá)州北拉斯維加斯的一座工業(yè)園修建電動(dòng)汽車(chē)生產(chǎn)廠，占地約29萬(wàn)平米,，計(jì)劃未來(lái)幾周內(nèi)動(dòng)工,；我們還得知，當(dāng)工廠竣工第一輛量產(chǎn)汽車(chē)下線時(shí),，將會(huì)是一款高檔轎車(chē),，而且銷(xiāo)售方式很可能也會(huì)創(chuàng)新——可能由多位司機(jī)共享產(chǎn)權(quán)，也可能允許一位司機(jī)單獨(dú)“訂購(gòu)”,，目前兩種方式都有可能,。

我們也獲知，法拉第有許多優(yōu)秀的員工,，有些曾為特斯拉,、德國(guó)寶馬集團(tuán)和奧迪集團(tuán)、英國(guó)蓮花跑車(chē)效力,。中國(guó)億萬(wàn)富豪,、樂(lè)視網(wǎng)創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官賈躍亭則是大手筆挖人的背后金主。

但高大上的愿景不代表一定能成事，至少?gòu)倪@款新車(chē)在CES展會(huì)上的表現(xiàn)沒(méi)看出多少潛力,。

Here’s what we know. We know that the company plans to build a 3-million square-foot electric vehicle factory in an industrial park in North Las Vegas. We know that it plans to begin work on that site in a few weeks. We know that when the factory is complete and a production car does come off the line—sometime in a few years—it will be a premium-priced car, one that could carry a new business model—shared ownership by several people, or a product that a driver can “subscribe” to. Faraday is open to either.

And we know that the company has many talented people working there, including alumni from Tesla, BMW, Audi, and Lotus. That bench is what has given Faraday Future credibility. The backing from Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, the CEO and founder LeTV, gives it the means.

But the lofty vision lacks meat, at least as judged by its turn at CES.

那么,，這款FFZero1會(huì)不會(huì)在跑車(chē)界混出名堂呢？倒是有可能,。法拉第介紹新車(chē)的當(dāng)晚,，坐在我旁邊的是龍之隊(duì)電動(dòng)方程式車(chē)隊(duì)的老板杰?潘世奇。他的車(chē)隊(duì)主要參加國(guó)際汽聯(lián)電動(dòng)方程式錦標(biāo)賽,，參賽的全是電動(dòng)賽車(chē),。潘世奇說(shuō)，為了參加電動(dòng)方程式比賽時(shí)增加車(chē)型,，他的車(chē)隊(duì)已經(jīng)跟法拉第見(jiàn)面談過(guò),，不過(guò)很快補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，他們跟其他很多大的汽車(chē)廠商也都談了,。

展會(huì)結(jié)束人群散去后,，潘世奇告訴我，“其實(shí)參加電動(dòng)方程式比賽是個(gè)進(jìn)入公眾視野的好方法,。對(duì)法拉第來(lái)說(shuō)這么走可能會(huì)繞一點(diǎn),，不過(guò)曲線救國(guó)的創(chuàng)業(yè)公司也不是這一家?！?財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))

翻譯：Pessy

校對(duì)：夏林

Could the FFZero1 be a compelling race car? It’s possible. Seated next to me in the tent during Faraday’s presentation was Jay Penske, owner of Dragon Racing, which races in the FIA Formula E Championship, a class of auto racing that uses only electric-powered cars. Penske told me that his team had met with Faraday Future, but quickly added that it has also talked to many other major automakers about adding cars to Formula E.

As the crowd dispersed, Penske said to me: “Ultimately, Formula E would be an interesting way to get into the public market.” That would suggest a long road for Faraday, but it wouldn’t be the first startup to take the scenic route to success.