Autoblog

It turns out that the Geely GT didn't corner the market on coupe concepts at Auto China 2008. Beijing Automotive -- whose Wrangler-style B40 you saw earlier -- is also on the case with its 700R coupe concept, a clean and attractive design with some interesting details. An accent line angles upward, merging with muscular rear haunches, giving the car a nice, aggressive presence. In front, knifelike headlamps; stylized, outboard air intakes; and a teensy main grille slit come together to give the car a good face. Out back, a similar motif finishes the car off, and the result is very attractive overall.

Of course, it'll probably never be anything more than vaporware, but generally speaking, it makes you wonder what on Earth goes on in the boardrooms of Chinese car companies. If they have the ability to deliver clean, original designs like this, then why bother copycatting at all? The mind reels. Until originality in this vein is the norm, the phrase "Chinese car" will remain a punchline. Too bad, because stylewise, this 700R concept is no joke.


[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Beijing B40

The basic Jeep shape has essentially carried forward from World War II to the present day. It has also been replicated many times over by automakers scattered around the world, and variations on the theme continue to appear. The Chinese auto industry has never been shy about (ahem) "borrowing", and Beijing Automotive has come through with one of the "better" quasi-clones we've seen so far. The B40 is obviously Jeep Wrangler-inspired, but rather than ape the Jeep's signature front end, the B40 instead sports a more Land Rover-ish look (think LR2/Freelander 2). And you know what? It's actually kind of interesting to look at.

The interior is gussied up with contrast-stitched leather seats, a nav system, and a steering wheel that looks like it's been ripped from a modern Opel. The wheels are OEM Jeep knock-offs. One thing that jumps out at us is the door handles -- they're a flat style, similar to the ones Jeep used before switching to the circular push-button handles on the current JK Wranglers. We really like that old look better. Anyway, back to the B40 -- the only technical info Autoblog Chinese has is that it's powered by a gasoline engine. Offroad prowess is unknown, as is its production status, but at least we know what a Wrangler/Freelander love child might look like.

UPDATE: As has been pointed out in the comments, Beijing Auto is the current name of the automaker once known as the joint venture, Beijing Jeep. (Stands up, ready to catch javelins.) As such, this is in all likelihood derived from actual Wrangler mechanicals. As one commenter theorizes, if the nomenclature is related to the actual powertrain, this may well have the old 4.0L I6 underhood. You know -- the one you can't get in the USDM Wrangler anymore.


[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

All photos Copyright ©2008 Bin Chen / Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for high-res gallery of the Brilliance BS4 Wagon

The Brilliance BS4 sedan is a pretty good-looking car, so it stands to reason that its wagon variant would be easy on the eyes as well. Unveiled in Beijing, the BS4 wagon is indeed a snazzy-looking, ostensibly practical machine. Power comes from a 1.8L Mitsubishi G93 four-cylinder making 134 hp (100 kW) at 6500 rpm. The BS4 wagon also comes equipped with an alphabet soup of safety feature acronyms like "ABS + EBD + EDS" but word association games involving "Brilliance" and "safety" only call to mind the BS6 Euro NCAP debacle (since corrected, allegedly... but still). The bad news continues, as a recent Inside Line review of the BS4 sedan concluded that the car was generally lackluster at best. Based on that, we can probably assume that the same shortcomings afflict the wagon. It does look nice, at least.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Bin Chen / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

Click above for high-res gallery of the VW Lavida for China

Shanghai Volkswagen developed the new VW Lavida in China, for China. Now it's made its big debut before the home-market audience in Beijing. Stylistically, the made-in-China design looks oddly dated, quite frankly. The petal-shaped head- and taillamps look like something you might find on a 1990's Korean import and not a newly-minted VW, regardless of origin.

The Lavida's positioned below the new VW Bora (also introduced in Beijing), with a shorter overall length (around 3 inches) but an identical wheelbase, so passenger comfort should be around the same as the larger car. The interior is a blend of familiar VW partsbin stuff with elements that just seem a little odd-looking in a VeeDub, like the silver audio head unit and the silver HVAC knobs set against a healthy dose of woodgrain trim. Power comes from 4-cylinder engines displacing 1.6L or 2.0L, with a six-speed Tiptronic available to handle shifting duties. It may be all-new, but it's also pretty boring.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Bin Chen / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Geely Tiger GT concept

Of all the cars being debuted at this year's Auto China show in Beijing, most of them are from one company: Chinese domestic automaker Geely. The brand has over 20 some debuts, but most are ho-hum little econoboxes that Chinese consumers are buying by the ton right now. The Tiger GT concept, however, is one vehicle from Geely that's getting a lot of attention for a different reason. It's an all-Chinese design concept, and as you can clearly see, looks like nothing else on the road. Whether or not that's a good or bad thing is up to you, but Geely makes no apologizes for new coupe concept that takes its basic shape from the Italian school of design and adds some unmistakable Chinese touches. As described by our blogging buddies at Autoblog Chinese, "the front is extremely arrogant." Indeed. They liken the grille to a Chinese mask and we wouldn't be surprised to find a sword rack hanging in the back window.

The Tiger GT is reportedly powered by a 3.5L V6 producing 225 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque. Riding on 19-inch concept wheels, the concept's motor would appear to have a hard time backing up the shear loudness of the coupe's design. It's got chrome fangs, for Pete's sake. Love it or hate it, the Geely Tiger GT concept is at least original, and as our colleagues in China tell us, that alone is worthy of applause.

Check out our full high-res gallery of the Geely Tiger GT below and let us know what you think in the comments.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Bin Chen / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Autoblog Chinese, Straightline Blog]

Click image for photo gallery

Imagine a Hyundai Elantra minus the swoopy body line and with a more assertive, Opel-ish beak, and you have the Changfeng Qi Ling CP1A that'll be unveiled this weekend at the Beijing Motor Show. According to thetycho.com, the CP1A designation is simply a code name, and the sedan will get power from a 1.8-liter four of undetermined size and strength. That's the extent of the details at the moment, but we'll keep an eye out for more as Auto China '08 gets underway this weekend. Until then, there are three photos for you to check out in the gallery below.


[Source: thetycho.com]