A black Hongqi CA7202E3 Century Star taxi, seen in central Beijing back in 2012. Hongqi taxi’s have always been very rare in the capital, most were used to ferry passengers back and forth to the airport.
The Hongqi CA7202E3 Century Star (Shijixing) was made from 2000 until 2005. It was the very last of the Audi 100-based Hongqi sedans. The Audi 100 was made by FAW-Volkswagen joint venture in Changchun, Jilin Province. FAW, First Auto Works, is also the owner of the Hongqi brand.
Earlier Audi-based Hongqi’s were design-wise not much more than a re-badged Audi. But the CA7202E3’s design was a bit more different, with a hew grille, new bonnet, new bumpers, and most notably a new trunk lid with ‘fins’ on the sides.
The Century Star was powered by a Nissan VG20 V6 that pooped out 125 hp and 167 Nm, good for a 175km/h top speed and a 0-100 in 13.5 seconds. Hongqi had bought the rights for this engine from Nissan, and it was used to power many of the Audi-based Hongqi’s. Price for the base version started at 159.800 yuan in 2004.
Nearby the Hongqi, I saw this on a wall. Poor dog. I know it has been a while, so imagine that dog being a little older. Have you seen it? Please call 00 86 139 112 05045. Thanks!
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