Hongqi S9 hypercar production at risk: Italy wants clarity

We rewind for a moment to 2019. Then Hongqi, the luxury brand of the Chinese FAW, presented the S9 Concept in Frankfurt at the IAA. An extremely strong hypercar with an equally extreme appearance. Last year Silk-FAW presented the production version. A whopping 1,419 hp monster, which draws its power from a 4.0-liter biturbo V8 and an electric motor. A plug-in hybrid, of which Hongqi will build 99 copies. At least that’s the intention. Production should start next year, but the factory where it is supposed to happen has still not been built.

That factory will be located in the Italian region of Reggio Emilia, near Modena, but the local government there is now starting to get a bit impatient. According to Automotive News the regional government now wants to see action from Silk-FAW. The American-Chinese partnership between Silk EV and FAW previously promised to invest one billion euros in the project, partly because more supercars should be built in addition to the S9. For this, even the acclaimed designer Walter de’Silva has been recruited as head of the design department. However, Silk-FAW would not even get the mortgage to build the factory. “They have to tell us whether the project is still going ahead, and if so, whether the necessary liquid resources are there. We are clearly concerned,” said Vincenzo Colla, who is responsible for the economic development of the region from the government. .

Hongqi S9

That something is rumbling is also clear from a statement given earlier this week by Silk-FAW to the news agency. Reuters. According to director Katia Bassi, there would be a “wide range of problems, including financial problems.” At least that’s fair. She does say that the goal is still to build cars in Italy and that work is also underway to bring in the aforementioned €1 billion. Yet another stillborn hypercar project? It’s starting to look like it.