When Zeekr introduced its brand and inaugural model, the 001, it vowed to “say goodbye to dull EVs”. Yeah, it’s done that. At first glance, the Zeekr 001 FR is a conventional enough SUV, until you read the spec sheet and see that it’s got 1,265 horsepower.
Building on the 001 shooting brake (Zeekr says it’s not an SUV) model, the 001 FR adds a special sports package that takes the performance up a level. Or ten. Carbon fibre aerodynamic updates add downforce for increased performance, while the regular model’s single- or twin-motor options give way to a quad e-drive system. Torque vectoring pushes power to each wheel in milliseconds, ensuring there’s always maximum performance available.
The result is a car that can reach 62mph in just 2.07 seconds — from a rolling start.
That rolling start, called the ‘rollout’, is a drag racing term where the first 30cm (or 11.5 inches) of movement don’t count. For most cars, that takes around 0.3 seconds. While common knowledge in the drag racing world, it’s not widely recognised elsewhere, coming to prominence only when Tesla announced that its Model S Plaid can hit 60mph (not 62mph) in 1.99 seconds, with rollout.
Hitting those speeds so quickly will drain the 100kWh battery pack rapidly, but ultra-fast charging means it can be topped up from 10% charge to 80% in just 15 minutes, if you can find a suitably powerful charging station. Zeekr is building its own charging network in China, allowing users to take full advantage of super-fast charging, with the short-term goal of reaching 1,000 such stations in 2024.
It won’t matter how remote those stations are, either, as the Zeekr 001 FR will be the first car fitted with a satellite communications pack built into the vehicle, effectively eliminating mobile network blackspots globally.
Deliveries of the new Zeekr 001 FR will start in October 2023, with production limited to 99 cars each month.
He is the founder of Huff Media, publisher of Professional Pickup, Professional Van, Average Janes, Average Joes, and CALIBRE. His work focuses primarily on light commercial vehicles, pickups, and real-world vehicle use, with much of his time spent on manufacturer launches, industry events, and long-term vehicle testing.