On August 8, 2018, the new energy autonomous brand, Frontline, officially released its first product, the Frontline K50, a domestically produced sports car with a subsidized price of up to 7.543 million yuan.
The appearance of the K50 is similar to that of the BMW i8, with a maximum power of 320 kW and a maximum torque of 680 N·m. The official 0-100 km/h acceleration time is 4.6 seconds, and the pure electric range is 380 km. This data was not considered top-notch at the time, while the 700,000 yuan price tag made consumers hesitate and failed to help Frontline establish an effective brand identity. This resulted in consecutive losses for Frontline, which only had one productat the time, and led to a period of silence.
However, unexpectedly, after a few years, Frontline released the K20 and is about to begin presales.
According to the official message, the Frontline K20 is still a small car with a focus on sporty handling, and the specific information is as follows:
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Maximum power 160 kW, maximum torque 290 N·m;
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Curb weight of 780 kg;
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The power-to-weight ratio is 0.2051, and the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h is 4.7 seconds;
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The driving mode is a dual-motor four-wheel drive.
In fact, the Frontline K20 was originally showcased as a concept car version at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, and the production version of the car now largely retains the design of the concept car.
As a two-door hatchback, its positioning is also aimed at the youthful market. Regarding its appearance, Frontline Automotive Chairman, Lu Qun, stated that the design of the K20’s exterior avoids being too cute and differentiated from other small cars such as the Leapmotor T03 and the BYD Dolphin.
For the Frontline K20, there are several points worth considering. Firstly, the layout of the dual-motor electric vehicle is bound to have a certain disadvantage in terms of energy consumption, coupled with the vehicle’s curb weight of only 780 kg, it is worth pondering the battery capacity and range.
It’s worth noting that the LI T03, which has a range of 403 km, is a pure electric micro car in the A00 segment with a total weight of 1,190 kg with its 41 kWh battery. There is probably only one rival, the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV Gameboy Edition, which has a weight of 772 kg, battery capacity of 17.3 kWh and a range of just 200 km.
In addition, the first vehicle of Byton is a sports car, and the second vehicle is intended to be a small car for mass production to achieve a turn around, a strategy similar to LI’s previous approach. LI’s first vehicle, the S01, is also a pure electric sports car, which sells for 1.199-1.499 million yuan. Despite its much cheaper price compared to the K50, the market reaction was nevertheless poor. After more than a year of rethinking, Zhu Jiangming launched the LI T03, which has accounted for the majority of LI’s sales since 2020, and helped LI to transform and launch the C11 and C01 subsequently.
However, the K20 is a two-door small car, and without decent range, space cannot be guaranteed, and practicality is greatly reduced. The exterior of the K20 does not look like an A00 micro car designed to replace commuters, and with strong power parameters, it is positioned as a steel cannon.
But steel cannons are, after all, toys for a few people and cannot support sales on their own. Just as Volkswagen once launched the 3-door, 4-seater Scirocco on the basis of the Golf, this is a niche choice that provides consumers with an alternative, and is not a product that supports sales.
If the future K20 can really achieve the claimed power and actual weight, it will definitely be a lot of fun to drive. After all, at present, the size of cars keeps increasing and their weight is also rising, which reduces the driving pleasure to a certain extent.
Source: Official account of the Future brand.
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.