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18 May 2017

Listen to the future of performance, the Nio EP9

By Tom WhiteTom White

We like the way Nio approaches electric motoring, proof first, production later.

But just get a load of how quick this thing is around the Nurburgring. It's just mind-blowingly fast, although it's pretty hard to tell exactly, thanks to the video infuriatingly not having a speedo.

At least we have a video this time. This is another plus to Nio's marketing campaign. They've responded to critics.

Last year they made the claim that the EP9 was the fastest EV around the Nurbugring, sporting a lap time of 7:05.12, they said at the time that this was limited by battery cooling issues. The time was also met with criticism because they provided no full-lap footage (understandable, given the amount of pessimism and scandals around certain other electric car startups)

But now they've struck back with a new video of a full onboard lap, plus a 19.22 second(!) reduction in the lap time (6:45.90), making it the fastest production car to ever circle the 'ring.

Production? Yes. You'll be able to buy one thanks to a made-to-order small-production run, for the equivalent of a measley AU$2 million.

Drink it in, especially that high pitched whining sound, because in all likelihood this is the future of performance. We just hope they show us the speedo next time...

What do you think, is electric an inevitability, or do you hope combustion sticks around? Let us know in the comments.