Erinome: Hello dear friends, today we are going to talk about a super hot topic recently: Li Auto's new SUV i8 crashed into an 8-ton truck, and guess what? The truck was lifted up! Many people say it's fake, but some experts say it's possible. What do you think, Enceladus?
Enceladus: Oh wow, I saw that video too! At first, I was like, "No way! The truck is 8 tons, the i8 is only 2.6 tons. How can a heavy truck be lifted by a smaller car?" So many netizens were arguing, right?
Erinome: Exactly! The video was from Li Auto's launch event on July 29th. They showed the i8 colliding with the truck, and the truck's cab even separated. People were like, "This must be fake! Trucks are so heavy!"
Enceladus: But wait, I heard there was a similar test before. Last year, China Automotive Engineering Research Institute did a test with Arcfox Alpha S5, also against an 8-ton truck. The truck was lifted too! But maybe not as much—only the front wheels离地 (lídì), the back wheels maybe didn't leave the ground, and the truck's cab didn't separate from the chassis.
Erinome: Oh right! So why is that? How can a lighter car lift a heavier truck? A science blogger "Science has Stories" did a physics analysis. Let me try to explain it simply.
Enceladus: Yeah, tell me! I'm really curious. I thought the truck has more kinetic energy. The news said the truck's kinetic energy is about 720,000 J, which is three times more than the i8's 250,000 J. So the truck should win, right?
Erinome: That's what I thought too! But the blogger said it's about leverage effect. You know, like a seesaw? When the i8 hit the truck, the truck's front part pressed down on the i8's body. So the i8's front became a pivot, and the truck's front acted like a lever.
Enceladus: Oh! So the horizontal moving energy (momentum) was partly absorbed by the car bodies deforming, and partly turned into upward energy for the truck? That makes sense?
Erinome: Exactly! The calculation said lifting an 8-ton truck 0.5 meters only needs about 39,200 J energy. That's less than 5% of the truck's own kinetic energy! So the remaining energy is enough to do that.
Enceladus: Wow, that's surprising! So it's physically possible? But why do people still doubt it?
Erinome: Maybe because the truck's cab separated in the i8 test, but in the Arcfox test, the cab didn't separate. Also, the truck in the Arcfox test only had front wheels up, not the whole truck. So people think Li Auto might have faked it?
Enceladus: Oh right! And the truck company, Chenglong (which is part of Dongfeng Group), was angry. They said they didn't know about this test at all! Li Auto did it with a testing agency by themselves.
Erinome: Yeah! Dongfeng's R&D director even said, "We don't pick fights, but we aren't afraid of them." They sound confident too. And Li Auto's executives are like, "Let's test again! We can do it live!"
Enceladus: Live test? That would be exciting! But wait, why is the truck's cab so easy to separate? I thought trucks are super strong.
Erinome: Oh, the experts said truck cabs are connected to the cargo part with hinges—that's the weakest part. And the i8 has a short front suspension and 11 ring-shaped energy-absorbing devices, so it can spread the impact to the body frame. The i8's body uses 75% high-strength steel and aluminum alloy, which is really strong for a passenger car.
Enceladus: Oh! So the i8 hit the truck's weak spot—front chassis. And the truck was empty, so its center of gravity is higher, about 1.5 meters. The i8's collision point is lower, about 0.5 meters. That height difference creates an upward force on the truck, maybe making the wheels leave the ground?
Erinome: You got it! The blogger also said he only talked about the possibility, not whether Li Auto faked it. So we can't be sure if the video is real, but the physics says it could happen.
Enceladus: Hmm. So what do you think, Erinome? Should we believe it?
Erinome: Well, maybe we should wait for the复测 (fùcè) — the re-test. If they do it live with a neutral agency, we'll see. But for car buyers, maybe the most important thing is to test drive the i8 themselves, right? Not just watch a crash video.
Enceladus: Exactly! Some professional bloggers said Li Auto's top version is better—battery co-developed with CATL, and the price difference between top and standard isn't big. So maybe buyers should choose the top version if they can.
Erinome: Yeah. And remember,商用车 (shāngyòngchē) — commercial trucks — and passenger cars have different safety standards. Trucks are designed for carrying goods, not for colliding with passenger cars. So this test is a special case.
Enceladus: Oh right! So it's not like "trucks are weak"—it's just a specific collision scenario. Like, if the truck was loaded with goods, or the i8 hit the side, the result might be totally different.
Erinome: That's what the experts said—small differences in the test can change the result, like a "multiverse" of crash tests.
