A flashy Suzuki Alto Happy Prince, seen in central Beijing in 2003. The good Suzuki was slightly modified with a new bonnet, red painted wheels, red mirrors, red light units, a new grille, fake shark fin antennas on the roof, and most of all a load of stickers.
Four extra lights for visibility.
The Suzuki Alto Happy Prince was a high end variant of the China-made Changan-Suzuki Alto. This is how a standard Happy Prince looks like.
The Changan-Suzuki Alto was made from 1988 until 2008. During this production run, Changan sub-licensed the platform to many other Chinese automakers, and some make Alto variants even today.
All Changan-Suzuki Altoos were powered by a 0.8 liter 3-cylinder petrol engine. Output depended on time van variant, ranging from 38 hp for the old base versions to a hefty 54 hp for the Happy Prince. Gearbox was always a four-speed manual.
The rear was updated too, with a lot of stickers again. Most notable is the large red spoiler above the window. The light units are new too, but the bumper was factory original. The shiny exhaust pipe barely fits underneath!
Strangely, it also had a country-sticker for France and another one for the European Union. The red door handles add a tad more sportiness. I remember seeing this Alto driving around the area for a couple of years more. Then, sadly, it was suddenly gone.
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