HiPhi Z: The Second “Transformers” Under Great Wall’s Flagship

The hot topic surrounding the “door gods” is still ongoing, and Great Wall’s aspiration to be more innovative in their designs is escalating yet again. After the super SUV, HiPhi X, the second “Transformers” under Great Wall’s flagship, HiPhi Z, has quietly appeared. Undoubtedly, the model of Great Wall’s dual-flagship is steadily taking shape.

First, let’s take a look at the design. Underneath the unimpressive appearance of HiPhi Z is the design language of Great Wall, which never fails to surprise. You may find it difficult to define whether it’s a vehicle derived from a sci-fi movie or a car model even a sci-fi movie director cannot imagine.

Although HiPhi Z doesn’t follow the conventional nesting doll design pattern of current car manufacturers, everyone in the world can tell that besides Great Wall, no other car company can produce a car with such a complex and divergent front end design and unique headlight layout. Moreover, the grille of HiPhi Z has an active opening and closing function, which can improve the cooling efficiency of the motor when opened and reduce wind resistance when closed.

The side of HiPhi Z breaks the traditional aesthetic concept entirely. Designers seem reluctant to spend an extra minute coordinating the proportions and lines of the car’s front and rear, which makes it look like four building blocks assembled at random. What’s bolder is that HiPhi Z includes a light strip running through the side door panels and combines it with the interactional light language of the front and rear headlights, which has already become the most important brand label of Great Wall.

Limited by the design of a coupé, the eye-catching top wing door of HiPhi X had to regretfully disappear this time. However, the electric suction dual-opening door and the active tail wing still have their charm. As for whether the complicated tail design of Great Wall HiPhi Z is a bit too much or not is a matter of perception, but I believe that anyone who has watched the movie “Back to the Future” can find numerous resonances.The mechanical beauty of Gaohe is also reflected in the interior. In contrast to the conventional approach of simply piling up luxury materials to create a sense of luxury, Gaohe HiPhi Z takes a different approach by starting with the immersive feel of the strengthened cockpit. Elements such as the psychedelic ornament panel, door ambient lights with galaxy light belt effect, hardcore seats, and a central control screen with a multi-axis robotic arm that can move in multiple dimensions (with built-in HiPhi Bot, an in-car digital robot) easily make one mistake it for entering a high-end theme suite.

After creating an unparalleled science fiction outer core, the powerful brain module follows. According to official statements, the HiPhi Z is equipped with an NVIDIA Drive Orin-X chip and has been specially designed to backup six main functions pertaining to perception, computation, communication, braking, steering, and power, with high standards to ensure safety.

At the same time, in terms of hardware, the self-developed HiPhi Pilot Gaohe intelligent driving assistance system consists of 31 driving assistance sensors, including two forward 8-megapixel high-definition cameras, one forward 2-megapixel backup camera, one rear 2-megapixel camera, five millimeter-wave radars, one lidar, and four sideways cameras, etc., combined with high-precision maps and positioning modules.

Currently, HiPhi Z has completed 95% of its entire vehicle production. According to Chinese regulations that do not currently allow the installation of electronic rearview mirrors, the remaining 5% of HiPhi Z must include this external rearview mirror.

The earlier version of HiPhi Z will launch with a 2+2 seating layout, and a five-seater version is expected to be available in the future. Official information about vehicle size, power, and range has not yet been released, but the latter two data will probably be similar to those of HiPhi X (97 kWh battery, 550 km range, 598 Ps, 820 N・m, 0-100 km/h acceleration in 3.9 seconds). At the same time, the official announcement also stated that HiPhi Z will announce the new car’s price and open preorders at the Beijing Auto Show in 2022.

With the precedent of HiPhi X, it is believed that HiPhi Z will not follow the “PPT car-making” path without substance. As we are still some time away from the official production and launch of HiPhi Z, let us approach this unconventional joint venture with a calm attitude.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.