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| Company type | Joint venture |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | April 2021 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | China |
Key people | Jonathan A. Krane (Chief Executive Officer, Founder of Silk EV) Walter de Silva (Vice President of Styling and Design) |
| Products | Supercars |
| Parent | FAW Group Silk EV |
| Website | www |
Silk-FAW Automotive is ajoint venture between Chinese auto manufacturerFAW group andItaly-based Silk EV founded in 2021.[1] Based inReggio Emilia,[2] Silk-FAW automotive plans to invest up to US$1.2 billion to design, develop and build high performance electric cars with production planned in Italy as well as China.[3]
In 2021 Silk-FAW started production on its first car, theHongqi S9. Designed byWalter de Silva, the S9 features a hybrid powertrain with a 4-liter twin-turbocharged V8, which produces over 1,300Horsepower and a top speed of close to 250MPH.[4] Silk-FAW plans to manufacture a line of 'S' cars, the S3, 35, and S7 respectively.[5]
In September 2019, the Chinese companyFAW Group presented a prototype of a fully electrichypercar brandHongqi,[6] previously focused on luxury limousines and SUVs.Hongqi S9 Concept debuted at the IAA 2019 international trade fair inFrankfurt am Main, announcing the debut of its production version two years later.[7]
In order to develop the production Hongqi S9,FAW Group decided to cooperate with the Italian engineering and design company Silk EV. The partnership was intended to acquire experienced engineers and designers as well as technological resources.[8] In April 2020, ajoint-venture company calledSilk-FAW was established,[9] which was officially launched in February 2021.[10] At the same time, it was announced that the alliance would also engage in long-term cooperation in the development of other luxury, electrified sports cars[10] for Chinese and global markets.[10] Production of future Silk-FAW vehicles has been indicated at bothItaly and theFAW plant inChangchun, China.[10]
With the launch of Silk-FAW in February 2021, it was announced that the famous Italian stylistWalter de Silva was at the helm of the design department, whose first project was the production Hongqi S9.[11] 3 months later, another experienced Italian in the automotive industry, former CEO ofFerrari Amedeo Felisa, joined the Silk-FAW team.[12]
A month earlier, during the Shanghai Auto Show 2021, the official world premiere of the productionHongqi S9 took place.[13] The hypercar received a completely new body design byWalter de Silva, however, despite the dedicated Silk-FAW company logo, it was decided to keep theHongqi brand for it.[14] The production vehicle is not a fully electric car, but a plug-in hybrid.[15] In May 2021, it was announced that theHongqi S9 will be a strictly limited vehicle that will be built in 99 units[16] at the Italian Silk EV factory inModena.[17] However, these plans did not come to fruition due to legal problems of the Italian subsidiary of the joint venture, as a result, limited production plans were transferred to China without a specific date or pool.[18] In May 2023, Hongqi S9 was exhibited at the prestigious Italian Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este event.,[19] while after 2023 the company no longer continued its operations.
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