The Hongqi S9 Hypercar’s makers are showing serious muscle.
Silk-FAW has appointed Amedeo Felisa, a former Ferrari CEO/Board Member, as special advisor to the joint venture’s executive chairman.
Felisa’s 26-years of experience at the Prancing Horse will be a huge asset to the brand. Silk-FAW reveals that Felisa will be part of setting the global strategy of the company and will oversee all aspects of the execution.
You may be wondering what the business plan is. Silk-FAW plans to create “high-quality, super-luxury sports cars” for China and the rest of the globe. Silk-FAW is a joint venture that produces hybrid and battery-electric hypercars. These will be manufactured in China and Silk headquarters in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
The 1,400-horsepower Hongqi was the first glimpse of these hypercars at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show. The Hongqi S9, the first in the ‘S’ Series, was designed by Walter de Silva, former Volkswagen Group chief design officer. He is now Silk-FAW’s vice president for styling and design. De Silva will design the entire ‘S’ lineup for Hongqi.
Hongqi is a Chinese company that produces stately vehicles for government officials. It has been billed as the official car for minister-level officials since 2013. As you’ve seen, Hongqi doesn’t just make official cars.
The S9 is a plug-in hybrid system that uses a V8 engine to produce a huge amount of power. The S9 is capable of reaching speeds up to 62 mph (100 km/h) in a mere 1.9 seconds. It also has a V8 combustion engine that produces a tremendous amount of power.