Bugatti? Bah! My Chinese-made electric will 'kill it': ex-Porsche designer's mysterious new project
Ex-Porsche man Pinky Lai Ping says new project will 'slap' supercar faces and rewrite Hong Kong's history
Former Porsche chief designer Pinky Lai Ping is involved in a project to build a high-performance luxury vehicle in China he says will leave coveted European marques such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti in the dust.
The Hong Kong native said he would fly to Beijing this week to sign agreements to begin building the car from scratch. It would be an electric-powered vehicle unlike any on the market, he said, adding he expected it to be unveiled in 12 months. He said the car would come with "an extremely high price tag".
"The world will be talking about it, whether you are a car nut or not, because it's more than a car - it's bigger than ourselves," Lai said.
The award-winning designer said the project was neither a sports car nor an SUV. He did not name the company working with him in China.
"The vehicle type is new; it does not exist yet. We're going to drop the bomb when we launch the car," he said. "We are rewriting the history of Hong Kong, and setting the record straight once and for all that design from China or Asia in general is not like what you think. If things go smoothly … you wouldn't look at Ferrari any more; you wouldn't look at Bugatti any more. Our car will just kill them all."