This is a Nissan Laurel Altima sedan, as seen in Beijing in the autumn of 2011. The Nissan was parked alongside the sidewalk in the Sanlitun embassy district but it had normal Beijing plates. The car was in fine shape, painted in light gold, and fitted with a fat body kit.
Black windows nicely contrast with the gold body.
The Laurel Altima was a sleek and sporty sedan based on the A31 Nissan Cefiro. It was available with two four-cylinder petrol engines: a 2.0 with 102 hp and a 2.4 with 141 hp, both mated to a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic, sending power to the rear wheels. Because of its potent engine and rear-wheel drive the Laurel Altima became extremely popular among tuners, with some heating up the indestructible 2.4 to far above 300 horses.
Many of these cars were imported to China long after production had ended. They were converted into drift cars with stripped-down interiors and roll cages. I have been to many drift festivals in Beijing with Laurel Altima’s drifting around a special drift track. I will post some stories about these events later on.
This particular Laurel Altima, however, was street-legal with license plates and mirrors. It sure had the looks of a race car, with the body kit and the semi-slick tires with five-spoke alloy wheels. The car was likely imported with the body kit already fitted on, as evident by the license plate area that is way too narrow for Chinese plates. The exhaust pipe is extra large, this car would surely make enough sound the set off the alarm bells in the nearby embassies.