This is a Geely China Dragon, an early Chinese sports car. I saw this great machine in April 2011 near the Dongzhimen subway station in east central Beijing. The China Dragon was in great shape, painted in China Red, with the original five-spoke alloy wheels and with Toyota badges.
The China Dragon (中国龙) was the successor of the Geely Meirenbao. Production of the China Dragon started in 2009 and ended in 2011. The platform was unchanged compared to the Meirenbao, but the body was all-new.
The owner added a big wing on the back and wind deflectors at the front windows. The shiny fuel-cap is factory-original. The China Dragon was a nice-looking car, and it was usable too, with 2+2 seating and a decent trunk.
The Toyota Trueno is a series of speedy coupes, made from 1974 until 1979. The Trueno doesn’t resemble a China Dragon, but designers took inspiration for the Geely Meirenbao from the Toyota Celica and MR2 sports cars. So the Toyota connection is real. The license plate is from Jiangsu Province.
Tech & Pricing
Geely offered two engines for China Dragon buyers: a 1.5 with 94 hp and 128 Nm and a 1.8 with 113 hp and 156 Nm. The top speed was 175 km/h and 190 km/h. The gearbox was a 5-speed manual. The price of the 1.5 was 86.800 yuan and the 1.8 sold for 88.800 yuan. In Chinese culture, people consider the number eight the luckiest, which is why they often include one or multiple eights prominently in prices.
Geely never developed a successor for the China Dragon, and it never launched any further sports cars. Today, people largely forget the Meirenbao and the China Dragon, which is unfortunate because they were cool little Chinese sports cars. Sadly, I have never seen one in a museum either.