Shuanghuan Laiwang MPV Is An Odd And Cool Chinese Car

Here’s a Shuanghuan Laiwang MPV in Beijing in the summer of 2014. The vehicle was in reasonable shape. It had seen some life! Busts on the bumpers, faded paint, and it had steel wheels instead of the factory alloys. Still, these cars are ultra rare nowadays, so seeing one in the wild is always great.

Shuanghuan Auto

Shuanghuan Auto (双环汽车) was a Chinese car maker, founded in 1988 and based in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province. The company produced various cheap SUVs, but it was most famous for two clones: the Noble Smart ForTwo and the CEO BMW X5. Sadly, after years of declining sales, Shuanghuan Auto went under in 2016 when the government cancelled its production license.

The Shuanghuan Laiwang was an MPV based on a pickup truck chassis. Shuanghuan produced the Laiwang (来旺) from 1998 until 2003. The side bars, stickers, and the roof rack atop the front compartment were standard. The door situation is interesting. On the left, it only has the driver’s door.

But on the right, it had the front-passenger door + a strangely-shaped rear door. The fuel cap was immediately behind that door, revealing its pickup truck origins.

A beautiful period Shuanghuan advertisement, showing a bright blue Laiwang MPV with the original alloy wheels. On the right is a happy couple on holiday, coming back from the beach.

Interior

In the 1990s and early 2000s, people in Beijing and northern China commonly used these thick steering wheel covers because China-made cars were poorly insulated against the ice-cold climate. The cloth seats are well preserved. A lucky charm hangs from the rear-view mirror. The radio unit is a later-date after-market example.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many Chinese cars had super cool stickers on the sides.

This is the official designation: HBJ6460E. In the past, all automakers wee obliged by law to have the designation on the car. A left-over from China’s planned economy. Nowadays, this law only applies to commercial vehicles.

Specifications

The Shuanghuan Laiwang MPV was a sizable vehicle: 4750/1840/1720. It had seven seats, including the driver’s seat. Under the bonnet was a 2.0-liter petrol engine with an output of 110 hp and 165 Nm. The gearbox was a 5-speed manual. The Laiwang was a rear-wheel drive car.

双环 means Double Ring, hence the double-ring logo, seen here on the super cool mud flaps.

This sticker is great. From way back, when Euro 2 was still a new thing! The Chinese expression is 欧洲II号, Ōuzhōu II hào.

The double-ring logo in iron at the rear door. The MPV logo is made up of individual letters that are not perfectly aligned. The V is too far away from the P. This kind of mistake was common in the 1990s.

The Shuanghuan Laiwang MPV, an odd but cool car from an interesting time in China’s car history. It should be in a museum.