Chinese company Dreame – which is best known as a maker of vacuum cleaners and other appliances – has pulled the pin on its automotive business after boasting that it would build a radical supercar that could go from 0-100km/h in less than a second.

Dreame officially entered the car market a year ago and made sensational headlines when it revealed its Nebula Next 01 Jet Edition in April. The plan was to equip the car with a “custom-built dual solid-fuel rocket booster system” that “responds in 150 milliseconds” and would provide peak thrust of 100 kilonewtons. 

Green sports car parked on a paved street beside a modern glass-front building at sunset, with golden reflections on the body.
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The boasting didn’t stop there, however. Dreame also said the Jet Edition would come with a sulfide-based solid-state battery with an energy density of 450Wh/kg. In addition to that 0-100km/h time of 0.9 seconds, it was meant to have 550km of CLTC range. 

It was also meant to go on sale down under, according to the company’s car project lead for Australia and New Zealand, James Moore. In June he predicted Aussies would be able to snap up the non-jet Nebula Next 01 and an SUV. “The ambition is that we’ll have our Nebula Next range, both the 01 and our SUV Nebula next, and potentially even the jet-powered vehicle,” Moore said.

Now the old saying “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is” has been proven correct with the news that the company is dropping its “Starry Sky” project, as its carmaking arm was known, with layoffs starting in May, according to CarNewsChina.

There were signs of trouble recently when former staff told China Economy that the version of the Nebula supercar that was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January was not what it seemed. They claimed the vehicle didn’t have a chassis, was moved via remote control, and that the bodywork was created by a Chinese model company.

Red sports car viewed from the rear in a dim, industrial setting, with illuminated taillights and a large rear spoiler
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The non-jet Nebula (pictured in top gallery) that debuted at CES was supposed to have four electronic motors producing a total output of 1420kW, with the absence of those sold-fuel boosters increasing the 0-100km/h sprint time to 1.8 seconds.

Dreame originally intended to separate its auto business into two arms: Dreame Automotive, which would produce the performance cars, and Starry Automotive, which would make the aforementioned SUV, a super-luxurious model that would compete against established players like the Bentley Bentayga.