A Hongqi H7 sedan, seen in Beijing in the early spring if 2016. The Hongqi H7 has a distinctive clean design with a large shiny grille and large headlights. The multispoke ally wheels are factory standard. Some 99% of all H7’s sold was black. I have seen some white ones, but never one in blue or red or any other color.
The Hongqi ‘red flag’ hood ornament on the bonnet.
Hongqi (Red Flag) is China’s most famous automotive brand, best know for their stately state limousines. The Hongqi H7 debuted in 2013 with a facelift in 2016. Our black Beijing car is a pre-facelift example. Back then, the H7 was one of only two cars in Hongqi’s lineup. Since then, the brand has been growing, and today it sells various mid- and high end cars in both petrol and electric forms.
Hongqi’s more recent cars are based on original platforms. Back then, however, Hongqi regularly used platforms of other cars to underpin their sedans. These platforms were ‘borrowed’ from cars made by the various joint ventures of First Auto Works (FAW), also the owner of the Hongqi brand. Some examples are the Hongqi 7200 series based on the FAW-Volkswagen Audi 100 and the Hongqi HQ3 based on the FAW-Toyota Crown Majesta (S180). The Hongqi H7 is based on the FAW-Toyota thirteenth generation (S200) Toyota Crown. Hongqi redesigned the front and the rear but the hard points and dimensions remained the same.
The classic Hongqi sunflower logo on the wheel. This logo has since been replaced with a new logo, although Hongqi occasionally brings is back.
The basic design of the interior was the same as in the Crown but Hongqi added more wood and more shine, and classy leather seats.
The engine sitiation was a bit complicated. On the private market, in 2013, the Hongqi H7 was available with three engines: a 204 hp/ 260Nm2.0 turbo developed by FAW or a 231 hp/300 Nm Toyota 3.0 V6.
There also was a special version of the Hongqi H7 that was only sold to the government and to state-owned companies. This version was powered by a Toyota 2.5 liter V6 with an output of 197 hp and 224 Nm. All engines were mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox, sending horses to the rear wheels. The car we have here today is such 2.5 liter car.
After the facelift in 2016, the 2.5 liter engine became available on the private market as well.
The rear compartment was very luxurious with two captain seats and a wide center console/armrest with controls for the stereo system and the air-conditioning. Some H7’s were also equipped with a rear-seat entertainment system with large television screens. But not this one.
Cars that were sold to companies, either state-owned or privately owned, have blue license plates beginning with ‘Q’. Cars sold to the government usually have white license plates.
The characters: 中国一车, Zhongguo Yiche, China First Auto, with First Auto short for First Auto Works. Up until the mid-2000’s it was very common for Chinese car makers to have 中国 in front of their name. Hongqi is one of the very few companies that continues this practice until today.
The Hongqi (红旗) name in ‘handwritten’ characters. Hongqi has used this lettering since the brand’s birth in 1958.
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