A Hongqi CA7220E sedan, seen in central Beijing in 2011. The good Hongqi was very dusty but in a fine overall shape. It still had the red flag hood ornament and the original 5-spoke sporty wheels.
The Hongqi CA7220E was one of the many Audi 100-based Hongqi sedans. The Audi 100 was manufactured in China by the FAW-Volkswagen joint-venture and FAW is also the owner of the Hongqi (Red Flag) brand.
Under a deal with Volkswagen-Audi, Hongqi was allowed to use the Audi 100 as a base for their own series of sedans, limousines, parade cars, and station wagons. The CA7220 was manufactured from 1997 until 2003, a surprisingly long life-span, most of these Audi based Hongqi’s were only produced for a few years before they were succeeded by the next car.
Hongqi used engines from FAW and various units sourced from Audi, Volkswagen, Chrysler and Nissan. The engine in the CA7220E was a FAW 2.2 liter four designated CA4GE. This engine was based on the aforementioned Chrysler engine but improved to lower emissions. It had an output of 99 hp and 157 Nm. Gearbox was a five-speed manual.
The CA7220E badge on the left. Handwritten Hongqi (红旗) logo in the middle. On the right: 中国一汽, Zhongguo Yi Qi, China First Auto, for First Auto Works. In the 2010’s the Audi-based Hongqi sedans were still quite a common sight on the roads of Beijing.
Sadly, nowadays most are gone, mainly due to age and to ever stricter emission standards that forbid older cars to drive in the cities. Too bad, because the CA7220E was a fine Chinese car with German-American roots.