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HiPhi X – A Car that Defines the Future

At the first sight of HiPhi X, the first thing that comes to mind is its stunning exterior design. A Dan-Yan-Orange HiPhi X with butterfly and gullwing doors parked on the road will definitely attract more attention than a red Ferrari F8.

The HiPhi X’s design is full of futuristic appeal. It doesn’t look like a car from this reality, but rather like something from another dimension – the kind of vehicle that kids would immediately associate with a transforming robot. And the essence of all things lies in its six doors.

The Design Philosophy

HiPhi’s doors are unlike the gullwing doors on the Mercedes SLS AMG or the falcon-wing doors on the Tesla Model X. The panels of the HiPhi X doors can open like those of a Rolls-Royce Phantom in a butterfly style, while the rear door frames can also rise up like gullwing doors. However, breaking away from traditional design sacrifices the rigidity of the car body and poses challenges for assembly processes. I was also curious to know why so much effort was put into designing the doors.

To answer this question, we need to go back 38 months to when HiPhi X’s research began. Chen Junyou, the CTO of Human Horizons, shared with us a story. Over 20 years ago, his father had difficulty bending over to get into their existing sedan due to poor neck and lumbar vertebrae. Junyou wanted to find a solution to this problem, so he developed a mid-size SUV that would solve his father’s issue. Later, his mother, who was elderly and had difficulty with her legs, found it challenging to step up to the height of the SUV.### A Safe Design?

When it comes to the design and development of cars, safety is always a critical factor. Even for MPVs with electric sliding doors, corresponding reinforcement is required for the grooves on both sides during the design process. This is especially true for HiPhi X, which features two large lifting panels on the roof.

Firstly, it should be noted that the design of the lifting panels inevitably affects the torsional rigidity of the car body. The white body of HiPhi X weighs 370 kg, with a torsional rigidity of 28.3 kN·m/deg. Compared with NIO ES8, whose torsional rigidity is 44.14 kN·m/deg, there is certainly some difference, but it still meets the mainstream level of the same class.

This is the result of HiPhi X having to make certain compromises to consider the accuracy of assembly while taking into account the comfort brought about by NVH. However, when it comes to safety, HiPhi X received a five-star rating at the end of last year’s C-NCAP test. Therefore, the structure of the lifting panels has not compromised the safety of the car. But how did HiPhi X enhance the car body structure?

This is where the design of the I-beam in the middle of the lifting panels comes in. HiPhi X uses 1,500 MPa hot-formed steel in this section, and the top panel employs a dual lock design to fully connect the lifting panels and the car body. Even in the event of a collision, the lifting panels can also become a force transmission path of the car body to distribute the load and ensure the integrity of the passenger compartment. In addition, the B pillar adopts hot-formed steel to construct a large-section frame to further strengthen the body structure.

As a pure electric vehicle, HiPhi X strives for a balance between lightweight and body rigidity. It uses a steel-aluminum hybrid body structure, with aluminum accounting for 37% and high-strength steel accounting for 42%. Most of the lower body is made of aluminum, the rear body is made of high-pressure cast aluminum, and the door cover is made of aluminum. However, high-strength 1,500 MPa hot-formed steel is used in critical collision locations such as the I-beams of the gullwing doors and the A and B pillars, while the door impact bars are made of 7-series aluminum alloy material for optimized structure. HiPhi X’s structural safety is highly reliable.

Five-star rating also has drawbacks

In the score distribution map of the 8-sided polygon in C-NCAP, the most perfect score should be that all 8 points are touched. Let’s take a look at the score of HiPhi X, except for the pedestrian head impact test, the other 7 items are relatively balanced, but the pedestrian head impact test only scored 7.487 points out of a max 12 points.

However, when we open C-NCAP and browse it briefly, we’ll find that the pedestrian head impact test is generally not highly scored, with most scores ranging from 7-8 points. Only a few models can get a slightly higher score in this area, and the recent highest score is 9.353 points, so there is still room for improvement for all automakers.

Since there is a disadvantage, it is necessary to think about where the compensation can be made. Therefore, HiPhi has made corresponding compensation in AEB for pedestrians crossing the road through active safety to prevent collisions. However, HiPhi X’s current advanced driver assistance system still has a certain gap compared to Tesla, Li ONE, NIO, and XPeng.

When it comes to deficiencies, we have to mention the falcon wing doors of HiPhi X. Currently, there are still some minor issues that need to be improved. Firstly, the door will actively avoid obstacles when opening to avoid collision. However, due to the limited sensing range of the door radar, collision can still occur in special circumstances. For example, when parking on the side of the road, if the curb is slightly higher, the lower edge of the door may get stuck or hit the curb. In addition, the anti-trap function of the door when closing is not so sensitive, which needs to be improved.

Five-star rating is enough?

Redundant Design

Structural safety is only the foundation of a car. HiPhi X, as an SUV, has a large tilting angle of the front fascia design and a not-so-high ground clearance, and the three rows of six-seat body structure make it more like an MPV in my opinion. And its final destination is a fashionable toy in a rich person’s garage. Let’s see where else HiPhi X can maintain the value of those rich people.

HiPhi X adopts dual-redundancy design for key hardware, which is similar to civil aviation aircraft. HiPhi X has made corresponding redundant designs in power supply, steering, and braking.

Let’s talk about the power redundancy aspect here. HiPhi X is equipped with a small 12-volt battery in front and rear of the vehicle. Even in the event of a rear-end collision, it can still ensure the normal power supply of the vehicle. After all, there is a difference between electric doors and traditional mechanical doors when facing emergencies.

So, you will definitely ask, what if the car is completely out of power due to a series of rear-end collisions and being sandwiched. GAC Aion says that all four doors have mechanical locks, and the doors will also automatically unlock in emergency situations. However, I have a question. What if the occupants inside the car are unconscious, how can rescue personnel open the door? After all, there are no mechanical handles on the outside of the car, which still needs to be verified.

Battery Safety

Battery safety has been widely concerned by the industry, consumers, and society since the introduction of new energy vehicles. In the entire industry, everyone has different answers to battery safety hazards. Some conduct puncture tests, while others prevent thermal runaway. However, GAC Aion doesn’t seem to have made any unique designs in related areas. Whether it’s ceramic materials, mica boards, pressure relief valves, or bottom steel plates, they are all mainstream protection measures in the industry.

## Introduction

In addition, GWM’s HiPhi X also has a cloud management system. HiPhi X says that it can give warnings as soon as the temperature starts to rise. Once a relevant problem is detected, the user will receive notifications within about a minute through the app, phone, and car machine. Speaking of which, new forces in this field also have different solutions. This section expects that HiPhi X will have more advanced solutions as always.

Future

As one of the domestic new forces, GWM HiPhi has created a new track with a price ranging from 570,000 to 800,000 RMB for its first product. This track was not dared to be tried by domestic independent brands in the past and was also the least favored.

Yes, the HiPhi X still has imperfections and small flaws. However, its sales performance in the subdivided market it belongs to has been good in the past few months, even not losing to traditional luxury brands of pure electric products at the same price. The fact that consumers can abandon traditional luxury brands and choose HiPhi also shows that this brand has something special. Looking back, it seems that there were no independent brand products that could earn a better return rate than supercars on the street before.

The safety of HiPhi X is only the foundation of the vehicle itself, and a five-star rating from C-NCAP is a compulsory course, whereas the design of the aircraft door and the body shape are elective courses. For those who can do well in elective courses based on compulsory courses, it is actually a symbol of the rapid development of our independent brand.

At the HiPhi Tech Safety Workshop on January 12, the CEO of GWM HiPhi also said: “HiPhi’s future products will be more amazing, and products will not be defined by price.” The positioning of the flagship product has already been clarified for the HiPhi Z, and Ding Lei also revealed that future products will penetrate into larger markets. Therefore, let’s also look forward to whether HiPhi’s next product can lower its personality and luxury to gain more market share.