Growing Chinese car brand Zeekr wants to beat Porsche at its own game, with a rebooted range of high-performance FR models.
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Zeekr's high-performance FR sub-brand – its equivalent to BMW M or Mercedes-AMG – will make a comeback with a new range of models.
And it has the German sports-car icon Porsche in its crosshairs.
Mars Chen, Zeekr vice president, told Australian motoring media, including Drive, that high-performance models are key to the development and future plans of the fledgling Geely-owned luxury brand, which has found success in Australia with the 7X SUV.
Zeekr’s first and only FR model to date is the 001 FR, which produces 895kW from four electric motors, a 100kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery, and an 800-volt architecture.
It claims to complete the 0-100km/h dash in as little as 2.02 seconds, and an electronically-limited top speed of 280km/h.
Since the 001 FR arrived in 2023, there has not been any further activity from Zeekr’s high-performance arm.
“For the Zeekr brand, we need to move upwards. How do we go up? In two directions. Performance, and super luxury,” Chen said.
While the luxury side of the equation is being delivered in the form of the flagship 9X SUV, Chen said for performance the brand needs a "halo model" and that "something is planned".
“For further information, I’m really sorry I cannot share with you. But I want you to note: the ambition is always there,” he said.
“When Zeekr was founded five years ago, the idea was to be a comprehensive carmaker. But after the ‘One Geely’ strategy, we need to aim at Porsche… focus on the real premium luxury segment.”
“We are not a luxury brand yet, we are humble.”
“But we are also confident. We do have luxury products in-house, But to be a better accepted luxury brand, you need to prove yourself. We cannot call ourselves a successful brand yet.”
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Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell
