A Mercedes-Benz S500 sedan, seen in the great city of Guangzhou in 2013. The German sled was painted in a light shade of gold with darkened windows and fitted with sporty five-spoke alloy wheels.
It is a RHD car. These are quite common in the wider border area between Mainland China and Hong Kong. Many people commute over the border; for business, family, or out-of-sight girlfriends.
Hong Kong folks who have to go over the border regularly can apply for an additional Chinese license plate. This plate has to be on the car, in addition to the Hong Kong plate. There is a similar rule for cars from Macau.
This Mercedes has a unique PK 1999 Hong Kong license plate. The Chinese plate is interesting. 粤Z stands for all cars with a ‘double’ license plate, from either Hong Kong or Macau. The character 港 at the far right of the plate is short for 香港, Hong Kong.
The W221 Mercedes-Benz S-Class was made from 2005 until 2013. The S500 model was powered by a 5.5 liter V8 engine, good for 383 hp and 530 Nm. The engine was mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission.
There has been some controversy about this plate regulation in Mainland China, especially in the mid-2000’s, when it was misused by Hong Kong based supercar clubs to go over the border and race over China’s endless new and super smooth highways, breaking the speed limit and every other traffic rule.
In those days, police on the mainland was unable to fine these drivers or to impound their vehicles. After some serious accidents the border simply closed for super cars. Nowadays, the police registration systems of Mainland China and Hong Kong are connected, so the highway racing party is over.