The IM LS9 Hyper is a luxury SUV from the IM brand (SAIC and Alibaba) with an EREV powertrain delivering 737 HP, a 65.9 kWh battery, 308 km of electric range (CLTC) and over 1,000 km combined. We look at its 24° rear-axle steering, 10-litre shower, 27.1" 5K screen and an estimated 350,000–450,000 PLN price tag.
Imagine you're eating dinner at a very expensive London restaurant. Suddenly, a guy in a tracksuit that costs more than your house walks in and starts juggling gold bars while reciting Shakespeare from memory.
That's exactly what the IM LS9 Hyper is. The IM brand, the luxury offspring of SAIC (the company behind MG) and Alibaba, decided that the traditional notion of a "luxury SUV" is as boring as a lecture on paint drying.
This isn't just a means of transport; it's a manifesto of technical dominance, served in a sauce of mild extravagance and brute force. The car is 5.3 metres long – bigger than your first flat – and hides… a shower in the boot.
I'm not joking. If after an off-road session you decide that your dog or your ego needs refreshing, the IM LS9 Hyper will pull out a showerhead, heat 10 litres of water and let you wash under the open sky.
This is the level of absurdity I love. But before you think it's just a gadget for bored billionaires, look at the specs. This "shower on wheels" packs engineering that makes the European competition sweat nervously under their plastic engine covers.
When choosing modern electric cars, we rarely expect such bold lifestyle solutions.
Once upon a time, the pinnacle of luxury in an SUV was an umbrella holder. Today, if you can't wash your Afghan hound with warm water straight from the tailgate, you're basically driving a cart. The Chinese understood that luxury isn't only leather – it's the ability to do strange things in strange places.
| Model | Drivetrain / Power | Range (mixed) | Innovation | Price (estimated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IM LS9 Hyper | EREV 737 HP | > 1,000 km | Shower + 24° steering | 350,000 – 450,000 PLN |
| Range Rover Autobiography | PHEV 550 HP | approx. 120 km (EV) | Luxury tradition | > 800,000 PLN |
| BMW X7 (2026) | MHEV 381 HP | approx. 800 km | iDrive 9 system | 462,654 PLN |
| Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV | BEV 544 HP | up to 600 km | MBUX Hyperscreen | > 600,000 PLN |
Beneath that gargantuan bodywork lies technology that makes European plug-in hybrids look like calculators next to a supercomputer. The IM LS9 Hyper is an EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle) – an electric car with extended range.
Forget the complicated mechanical transmissions that try to reconcile two worlds. Here we deal with pure, brutal electricity supported by an onboard power plant.
It uses three electric motors – a front unit producing 215 HP and two powerful ones at the rear, each delivering 261 HP. The combined system output is 737 HP, and the torque could probably alter Earth's rotation.
The result? This land-based aircraft carrier, probably weighing as much as a small Alpine village, hits 100 km/h in 4 seconds. That's faster than you can pronounce the full name of the manufacturer.
Anyone browsing our vehicle catalogue will notice that these specs place the Chinese design firmly at the sharp end of the market.
The best part, however, is energy management. A 65.9 kWh battery lets you drive 308 km in absolute silence (according to the CLTC standard). And when the power runs out, a 1.5-litre turbocharged generator steps in.
It doesn't drive the wheels – it serves the battery, feeding it life-giving electrons. Thanks to this, the IM LS9 Hyper's combined range exceeds 1,000 kilometres.
Such range makes petrol station visits rarer than sensible decisions in parliament. You can drive from Warsaw to Berlin and back, and the only worry is whether the champagne in the fridge between the seats has run out.
The biggest problem with cars over five metres long is manoeuvring, which feels like steering the Titanic in a bathtub. Not here, though. The engineers at IM (Intelligent Mobility) decided to mock the laws of physics.
The IM LS9 Hyper features an intelligent four-wheel steering system in which the rear axle deflects by an incredible 24 degrees. By comparison, most luxury limousines from Germany offer 3-10 degrees of steering.
The result? A turning radius of just 4.95 metres. That means this giant, with a wheelbase exceeding 3,200 mm, turns more tightly than a small hatchback.
That matters, because you can actually drive the IM LS9 Hyper into a tight mall parking spot without bringing in a construction crew to widen the entrances.
On top of that, there's a dual-chamber air suspension that acts as the brain of the whole chassis. It can raise the body by 150 mm, turning the IM LS9 Hyper into a competent off-roader.
One day you can pose as an aristocrat outside the opera, gliding over the asphalt with the grace of a cloud, and the next you can forge through a river or deep ruts, laughing in the faces of owners of shiny Mercedes GLS models.
A LiDAR road-scanning system preps the dampers for every pothole before you hit it. When you're back and a stationary charger is needed, the car will remind you to top up.
If the BMW X7 is like a solid, Bavarian officer, then the LS9 Hyper is like a ninja in an Armani suit. The 24-degree axle steering makes the laws of physics merely a suggestion, not a binding rule.
Inside, things are even more modern. The dashboard isn't furniture – it's one giant screen with a combined diagonal of 27.1 inches at 5K resolution, stretching across the full width of the cabin.
That's not all, because the passenger gets their own 15.6-inch display. All of this in the IM LS9 Hyper is driven by an Nvidia Thor processor.
This silicon monster has more computing power than NASA's command centre from the 90s and could probably spend its spare time mining crypto or simulating the weather on Mars.
If you grow tired of technology, the IM LS9 Hyper turns into a mobile hotel. All the seats can fold flat, creating a huge sleeping surface.
Combined with the external shower and an onboard fridge that can cool down to -6°C or heat food up to +50°C, the vehicle becomes the most luxurious tent in the world.
You can fall asleep in the middle of a forest, watching the stars through the panoramic roof, and in the morning take a warm shower and have breakfast without leaving your 700-horsepower bunker. It's a unique approach to a segment dominated by luxury electric cars.
In China, the standard model starts from amounts that convert to around 165,000 PLN, which sounds like a joke. But don't be fooled.
The IM LS9 Hyper version, packed with LiDAR radars, a triple-motor drivetrain and the most refined materials, will be positioned much higher once it reaches Europe.
Realistically, you should expect figures hovering around 350,000 – 450,000 PLN. Is that a lot? For a car that has 737 horses, turns almost like a forklift and lets you take a shower in the forest, it's the deal of the century.
The IM LS9 Hyper is the ultimate proof that the Chinese have stopped copying us. Now they are the ones constructing the future and redefining luxury on their own terms.
We can only sit in our cramped SUVs and watch their luxury cars drive off into the sunset. The IM LS9 Hyper is pure, silent class.
Rating: Brilliant absurdity on wheels.
The EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle) system in the IM LS9 Hyper uses a 1.5-litre combustion engine exclusively as a generator. This engine has no mechanical connection to the wheels. Propulsion is handled by three electric motors powered by a 65.9 kWh battery. When the charge level drops, the generator switches on to power the motors and recharge the battery.
Yes, the system is adaptive. The maximum 24-degree deflection works at low manoeuvring speeds (up to 30 km/h), reducing the turning radius to 4.95 metres. At high speeds, the rear wheels steer in the same direction as the front wheels, which increases driving stability.
The Nvidia Thor is the intelligent heart of the car, delivering 2,000 TOPS. It handles the autonomous systems, lightning-fast 5K graphics rendering on all screens, LiDAR sensor data processing and the smooth running of AI algorithms.
The car has a 10-litre tank. The system uses a heat exchanger from the generator's cooling circuit or an electric heater. This delivers warm water (approximately 38-42°C) in less than 5 minutes.
Yes, the car has solid off-road credentials. The air suspension can increase ground clearance to over 300 mm, and the three electric motors precisely distribute torque to individual wheels, effectively replacing traditional differential locks.
The manufacturer uses cells with enhanced cycle durability. Thanks to advanced thermal management, the battery retains optimal operating parameters. It is expected that the battery will keep over 85% of its capacity after 250,000 km.
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