(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) Dreame, a Chinese robotics company best known for its high-speed vacuums, just debuted a rocket-powered car capable of 0–60 mph in just 0.9 seconds. There’s a lot to unpack here.
Meet the Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition
Earlier this year, Dreame released the Nebula NEXT 01, an all-electric hypercar with 1,876 horsepower and a claimed 0-60 time of 1.8 seconds. Today, Dreame unveiled a slightly tweaked version of this car. This version, affectionately called the Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition, features a dual solid rocket booster system that generates a peak thrust of 100 kN. And yes, Dreame claims it will go from 0–60 mph in just 0.9 seconds, which would make it the fastest accelerating car ever made, though those figures have not been independently verified.
At the launch event in San Francisco, Dreame repeatedly called this prototype a rocketcar, which is rather fitting. Essentially, what they’ve done is throw a set of rocket boosters on top of the already-existing electric motors, making this a rocket-EV hybrid. Now that’s probably the first time that’s been written about a car.
Technology Highlights
The details on the Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition are vague. For example, there are no horsepower or torque figures. There are also no details on pricing or production timelines. Or the obvious question: where on Earth you would even refuel your rocketcar, because the last I checked, there aren’t many gas stations offering jet fuel.
Dreame did release a lot of information on its autonomous driving technology. Thanks to a high-resolution LiDAR system dubbed the DH2160, the Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition is set to be able to handle complex self-driving situations. At the conference, Dreame even claimed the car will have a self-driving race mode, where the car will race itself around a track.
Artificial intelligence also plays a core role in Dreame’s automotive endeavors. The Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition is set to feature a series of AI agents, which learn from you as you use the vehicle. Essentially, there are three different AIs, all working together: Cockpit, Chassis, and Powertrain. Each take in information from the outside sensors and user inputs to create a customized driving experience.
What to Expect?
Other than that, we don’t have much to work with on the Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition. The overall lack of information suggests that this car is very early in production, or just a hype builder. Dreame did address this at the press conference for the Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition by saying this car shows their willingness to break industry norms and rethinking how to build a car.
Whether this becomes a production vehicle or remains a concept, one thing is clear: Dreame isn’t afraid to go beyond the norm.
This article is part of Alex Automotive News’ coverage of the DREAME NEXT event in San Francisco. Travel accommodations were provided by DREAME. Editorial decisions and coverage remain fully independent.
