NIO EP9
A carbon-fibre electric track machine with one motor and one gearbox for every wheel.
2016 China NIO EP9 prototype · Jengtingchen · CC BY-SA 4.0
Research pending
A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.
Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.
More than a set of wheels.
NextEV unveiled both the NIO brand and the EP9 in London on 21 November 2016. Built as a statement of technical ability, the EP9 combined a one-megawatt powertrain, active aerodynamics, swappable batteries and motorsport-style carbon construction. It had already run 7:05.12 at the Nürburgring in October 2016; a further test on 12 May 2017 produced 6:45.900. NIO later announced ten made-to-order cars, but the evidence describes a track-day/user-experience programme rather than ordinary homologated road production, so 'prototype/low-volume demonstrator' is the honest Joyride classification.
Look a little closer.
At 240 km/h, NIO claimed the wings and underbody could press down with about 24,000 newtons—more force than the car's own weight.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
Four motors make cornering a powertrain job
Each wheel has an inboard motor and its own 1:4.283 gearbox. The control system can vary torque wheel by wheel, so acceleration hardware also helps steer the car through a bend. RML says it helped integrate the quad-motor system and tune the power delivery, aerodynamics and vehicle controls through track testing.
Source: RML Group · Engineering the NIO EP9 ↗A record is a test result, not a road-car claim
The 6:45.900 Nordschleife lap belongs to a 12 May 2017 track run, not the November 2016 launch day. NIO also lists wet and slick track tyres and describes the battery system as designed for track days and a user-experience programme. Those details make the result impressive but do not establish road homologation or ordinary showroom production.
Source: NIO · EP9 breaks the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record ↗Where these facts come from
- NIO · NextEV launches NIO brand and EP9
- NIO · EP9 engineering experience
- NIO · EP9 breaks Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record
- RML Group · Engineering the NIO EP9
- Fully Charged · NIO EP9 first drive
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.