253: Chapter 253 Mr. Ren, don't you have any ideas?

Honestly, this promotional plan from the client is actually pretty good.

Based on the market positioning and target consumer demographic of the SU7 Ultra, choosing a top-tier male artist with a positive image, a large fanbase, and a brand identity that matches the product to serve as the SU7 Ultra's Experience Officer can not only leverage the artist's influence and fan base to boost the product's visibility and appeal but also further expand the topic's reach and increase product exposure through interactions between the artist and Mr. Lei on Weibo.

While the Haters on the internet may talk trash, Lin Chuyan's current image is genuinely positive, and his influence among young people is growing, which is why so many brands have their eyes on him.

Plus, he has a racing license, making him practically the "chosen one" for the "SU7 Ultra Experience Officer" role.

However, while it sounds simple, for the entire plan to actually be executed, Lin Chuyan really needs to have the skills—they have to release a video in the end, and the brand wouldn't hire someone who can't drive.

The brand wouldn't just take Director Chu Dong's word for it and sign a contract; they still needed to arrange a test drive for Lin Chuyan.

Everything depends on Lin Chuyan experiencing the SU7 Ultra firsthand; this ensures the artist has a sufficient understanding and feel for the product, and secondly, it confirms the artist is qualified for the partnership.

Lin Chuyan was very cooperative, doing whatever the client asked, and he even recommended a track—the Shanghai International Off-Road Circuit—since they had just filmed there, and Lin Chuyan had driven it many times, knowing every turn like the back of his hand.

If they switched to another track, he would have to re-familiarize himself with it, which wouldn't be done in a day or two, and that would just waste more time.

If he just wanted to go through the motions, it wouldn't matter, but Lin Chuyan clearly didn't think that way.

Since he had accepted, he was going to do it big.

The brand side was also very straightforward, handling all the flight and hotel arrangements perfectly. Lin Chuyan brought Wu Yue and Xia Zhi, and the three of them flew to Shanghai that same day.

Naturally, they wouldn't see Mr. Lei. They were received by a high-level executive in charge of the plan, a fairly young middle-aged man who looked under 40, though his hair was a bit sparse.

Both parties met directly at the Shanghai International Circuit.

"Teacher Lin Chuyan, hello."

"Director Ren, hello." While greeting him and shaking his hand, Lin Chuyan's eyes were drawn to the yellow SU7 Ultra nearby. "It's cool. This car is really cool. Director Ren, this is the production version, right?"

"Yes, 814,900. Teacher Lin Chuyan, what do you think of this price?"

"I initially guessed the price would be 600,000, but then I thought, someone who can afford an 80,000 car might not be willing to pay another 20,000. But someone who can afford a 600,000 car might not find it impossible to pay another 200,000."

"Hahahaha!" Director Ren didn't delve into that topic and pointed to the car nearby. "Unfortunately, this isn't the prototype, so it might not run as fast."

"Production cars have their own way of being driven, I understand, I understand." Lin Chuyan nodded. "If it were really a prototype, it wouldn't be this price. A large number of sports kits plus extreme design are meant to pursue ultimate performance on the Nürburgring, and they can't be driven on public roads anyway."

Director Ren's eyes lit up: the other party really knew his stuff.

"That said, it's a bit of a pity this time. 6:46.874 is definitely not the limit of the SU7 Ultra..." Lin Chuyan looked regretful. "I've watched the driver's video, and I feel that if it weren't for external interference, the time could have been improved by at least 20 seconds."

Director Ren became interested: "Oh, how so?"

Lin Chuyan spoke eloquently: "There were too many debuffs. First, many parts of the track were wet; that alone conservatively estimated to affect the time by 15 seconds. A 1500-horsepower car with slick tires running on a wet track—to still hit over 200 when going down Foxhole—all I can say is the driver is amazing. Second, the driver only ran one lap. The allotted time was from 11:00 to 12:00, but they waited until 11:50 to go out, only pushing for one lap. It was all or nothing; the mental fortitude is incredible. I guess it's because the track was too wet earlier? Waiting for it to dry a bit? That probably affected it by two or three seconds. Third, there was a period where power was cut because fallen leaves blocked the sensors... that probably affected it by four or five seconds."

It's solid, it's solid. This is really solid now.

Although it was Director Chu Dong's recommendation, Director Ren was afraid the other party might not live up to the reputation. The result? Goodness, you really do know your stuff.

As for what Lin Chuyan said, the only thing outsiders would know is that they had coordinated a one-hour time window with the Nürburgring officials.

As for the rest—how many seconds the wet track affected, the impact of only running one lap, the power interruption caused by leaves blocking the sensors—these, a layman really wouldn't be able to tell.

Director Ren smiled: "Teacher Lin Chuyan, shall we try it out?"

No matter how confident he felt inside, he wouldn't say it out loud. Whether it would actually work or not, he still had to try it out to know.

"Let's try. I know this track well."

Lin Chuyan didn't say much more, changed into his gear, put on his helmet, and began the test drive.

A new car and a new model, to use an inappropriate metaphor, is just like finding a new partner. You have to put everything from the past aside and get to know it all over again—familiarize yourself with its temper and its body—before you can get along with it better.

Lin Chuyan wasn't in a rush to show anything off, maintaining a medium-to-low speed throughout the entire lap, driving leisurely.

A test drive is, after all, mainly about getting familiar with the vehicle.

After one lap... Director Ren tried to hide it, but he couldn't—it would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed.

Come on, man, this is a racetrack; you don't have to be this "steady" during a test drive, right?

Lin Chuyan ignored him. Once he entered the zone, his face was nothing but serious; everything was done at his own pace.

His voice sounded calm: "Director Ren, I'll do another lap."

Starting the second lap, Lin Chuyan picked up speed.

100... 200... 300... He maintained it for a few seconds before slowing down again. Once he found a suitable opportunity on the track, he accelerated again, maintaining it for a bit longer this time. And so it continued.

What does it mean to hit 300 km/h? Let's put it this way: many high-speed rail lines don't even reach that speed.

A few minutes later, the car stopped.

"Director Ren, what's the time?"

"Less than 3 minutes..." Director Ren was also confused. "Is this your best time?"

"No." Lin Chuyan smiled. "I played around with it when I was filming with Director Chu Dong before, and the time was better than this."

What do you mean "played around with it"? Better than this?

"How much better?" Director Ren couldn't help but ask.

Lin Chuyan didn't answer. "Director Ren, is this time good enough for us to cooperate?"

"It's enough, it's enough." The client hadn't expected him to pull off any amazing time, but it certainly couldn't be too ugly, since they were going to release a video in the end.

"I don't think it's enough." Lin Chuyan started to lay it out for him. "I remember the best time for a four-door car at the Shanghai International Circuit was set by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, with a time of 2:11.28. This was the first official certified production car lap record they set, right?"

"Hmm..."

Director Ren was even more confused: No, what are you trying to do?

"At the Nürburgring, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT set a time of 7:07, and this time, the SU7 Ultra prototype was 21 seconds faster than the Porsche."

Lin Chuyan smiled. "Director Ren, don't you have any thoughts on this? At the Nürburgring, your prototype was 21 seconds faster than the Porsche. I just want to ask: what about the production car? Why can't your production car beat the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT at the Shanghai International Circuit?"

Thoughts? What kind of thoughts could I possibly have?

Director Ren felt completely indifferent; he had no thoughts whatsoever.

Damn, you kid, just keep bragging.

On the surface, he was still smiling, changing the subject again. "Teacher Lin Chuyan, well, it's getting late, shall we sign the contract early?"

Lin Chuyan looked up.

The sky was very blue, the clouds were very white, and the sun was shining high in the sky.