Faraday Future, a secretive US automotive start-up bankrolled by a Chinese internet billionaire, revealed its prototype electric vehicle for the first time on Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

本周一，神秘的美国电动汽车初创公司Faraday Future在拉斯维加斯国际消费电子展(Consumer Electronics Show)上首次揭幕了其电动车原型，该公司的投资人是一位中国互联网亿万富翁。

Its Batmobile-style FFZERO1 concept car embeds a smartphone in the steering wheel to give the vehicle a “sixth sense”, personalised to its driver’s preferences but also capable of piloting itself.

这款名为“FFZERO1”的概念车外观酷似“蝙蝠战车”，方向盘上嵌入了一部智能手机，为汽车赋予了“第六感”，不但个性化了驾驶者的喜好，还可用于驾驶本身。

While it is uncertain whether the four-motor, 1,000-horsepower vehicle will ever go into production, Faraday Future said it used the same “modular” manufacturing technique that would underpin all its vehicles.

虽然目前尚不确定这款配置了四台发动机、1000马力的汽车是否有投产的一天，但Faraday Future表示旗下所有汽车将全部采用同样的“模块化”生产工艺。

Nick Sampson, senior vice-president of R&D and product development, said the “Variable Platform Architecture” would allow Faraday Future to bring a range of electric cars to market at a faster pace than traditional automakers, who he said were moving too slowly to build environmentally friendly and internet-connected vehicles.

Faraday Future主管研发和产品开发的高级副总裁尼克儠湨森(Nick Sampson)表示，“可变平台架构”将允许该公司比传统汽车更快速地向市场推出一系列电动汽车。桑普森表示传统车企进展太慢，打造不出环保的、联网的汽车。

Speculation about the 18-month-old California-based company intensified in recent weeks after it said in December that it would build a 3m square foot, $1bn manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas, ahead of the planned launch of its first vehicle in 2017.

去年12月Faraday Future表示将斥资10亿美元，在北拉斯维加斯建造一座300万平方英尺的制造厂，并计划于2017年推出首款汽车，令外界在最近几周对这家位于加州的、才成立一年半的公司增加了猜测。

Thanks to constant connectivity and autonomous driving technology, Faraday Future’s cars might be owned outright by consumers or rented in a way that Mr Sampson likened to a mobile subscription or a digital media app such as Spotify or Netflix.

由于稳定的联网以及自动驾驶技术，消费者也许可以立即拥有Faraday Future的汽车，或通过桑普森所说的手机订购方式，或是Spotify、Netflix等数字媒体应用来租赁该公司的汽车。

Much of Faraday’s initial funding came from Jia Yueting, the founder of Chinese internet group Letv, who has said he hopes to beat Tesla in the nascent market for connected, electric cars.

Faraday Future的大部分初始资金来自中国互联网集团乐视(Letv)的创始人贾跃亭，他曾表示希望在互联网电动汽车新兴市场打败特斯拉(Tesla)。

On Monday, Faraday also announced its partnership with Letv, which offers internet and video content in China as well as smartphones and connected television sets on which to watch it. Letv has previously partnered with Aston Martin on in-car “infotainment” systems.

Faraday Future还在周一宣布了与乐视的合伙关系。乐视是中国一家互联网和视频内容提供商，同时还推出了智能手机以及可观看这些内容的网络电视机。乐视此前与阿斯顿氠丁(Aston Martin)合作推出了车载“信息娱乐”系统。

Construction will start on its Nevada facility in the coming weeks, it said on Monday, as it continues a frantic hiring spree.

Faraday Future还在周一表示未来几周将开始在其内华达州工厂开工，延续其招聘热潮。

“We are growing a team very fast,” Mr Sampson, a former engineer at Tesla and Lotus Engineering, told the Financial Times, with more than 550 employees in the US and another 200 through partnerships around the world.

桑普森曾在特斯拉和莲花工程(Lotus Engineering)担任工程师，他向英国《金融时报》表示：“我们团队的建设速度非常快。”该公司在美国的雇员已超过550人，另外通过合作伙伴关系在全球还有200名雇员。