Author: Chairman MacPherson

BMW 7-Series With A 京N·77AA7 License Plate In China

As our good readers may know, the team at CoolCarsInChina has a very healthy obsession with license plates: black plates, embassy plates, white plates, and otherwise special plates.  The license plates of this F01 BMW 740Li fall in that final category: 京N·77AA7. That’s a triple seven on a 7-Series. That can’t be a coincidence and it likely wasn’t any. Great plate for a great car. I met it in east Beijing in 2015.

The fifth generation F01 BMW 7-Series was made from 2008 until 2015, it was only the second generation 7-Series that was officially sold in China. Beige color was a popular color on the Chinese car market. I remember many were sold in this shade. Our 京N·77AA7 has a beige interior too.

BMW only sold the long-wheelbase L models in China, and only powered by petrol engines. The 740Li was powered by a 3.0 liter win-turbocharged six-in-line with output of 322 hp and 450 Nm. Top speed was 250 km/h and 0-100 was all gone in a speedy 6 seconds. Price started at 1.18 million yuan (2009). Lot of money but lot of car, especially with that license plate!

A Toyota Crown Super Saloon Of The Vietnamese Embassy In China

A Toyota Crown Super Saloon 3.0 Twin Cam 24 sedan, seen in central Beijing in 2017. The Crown is painted in white, a relatively rare color for this great Japanese sedan.

The eight generation S130 Toyota Crown was manufactured from 1987 until 1995, in Nagoya, Japan. The Super Saloon was the second-most luxurious trim level after the Royal Saloon. It was powered by a 24 valve 3.0 liter six-in-line engine with 204 hp and 265 Nm, sending horses to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.

This particular car belonged, or perhaps still belongs, to the Vietnamese embassy. Like in most countries, cars used by foreign embassies have special license plates in China. In the capital Beijing, diplomatic license plates start with the character 使 (shi), is short for 大使馆 dashiguan, meaning embassy.

Each embassy has its own 3-digit number. In this case the number is 228, which stands for Vietnam. The next 3 digits are the car number. The ambassador’s official car is always 001 but there are no specific rules for the other numbers, and plates may be carried over from car to car. Our Toyota Crown has car number 039, which means that the license plate, when it was issued, was for the 39th car used by the Vietnamese embassy.

Lifan 720 Sedan Times Three In China

A triplet of Lifan 720 sedans, seen on a car market in north Beijing in 2019. There was no Lifan shop in the area and the cars looked like they had been there for a very long time. Strangely, it seemed they were never ever used, brand new basically. Not sure why. Perhaps they just didn’t find any buyers. Lifan cars are relatively rare in Beijing; almost no shops for service and the brand is now widely known.

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Beijing-Jeep 2500 Cherokee XJ On Big Wheels In China And A Few More

A big black Beijing-Jeep Cherokee 2500, seen near a small repair shop in the far east of Beijing in December 2019. The 2500 looked brilliant with raised suspension and big off-road tires with shiny alloy wheels. The rest of the vehicle is original. The Beijing-Jeep 2500 was a heavily updated variant of the Beijing-Jeep Cherokee XJ.

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A Wondrous White BMW 5 Series Of The Cameroon Embassy In Beijing

A wondrous white E34 BMW 5-series sedan, seen parked in the Sanlitun embassy district in central Beijing in 2013. The good Bimmer was in a fine shape, with a clean body but in need of a little love and maintenance.

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Porsche 911 GT3 Looks Cool On Forgiato Wheels In China

A speedy Porsche 911 GT3 super car, seen in front of a Forgiato shop on the Tuning Tribe tuning street in east Beijing in 2013. The Porsche was painted in a sweet shade of white, with black racing stripes and darkened windows.

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Toyota Cressida Is A Pretty Japanese Sedan In China

A Toyota Cressida sedan, seen on a car market in the far north of Beijing in 2019. The Toyota stood alone parked partially in some bushes and it didn’t have license plates on. Happily, it was generally in a good shape but clearly in need of a bit of work and love.

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Ford Focus Is Nicely Modified In China

A nicely modified Ford Focus, seen in 2011 in the great city of Nanjing in Jiangsu Province in China. The Focus had a completely new front bumper, very wide and sporty, white wheels, darkened windows, and lots of racy decals.

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Vokswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet Is A Rare German Convertible In China

A Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet, painted in a pretty shade of red with a black convertible roof. It was a brand new car, freshly arrived from Germany. I saw it in 2013 on a small parking lot next to the Liangma River in central Beijing, not far from Volkswagen’s China headquarters. The place was often used by Volkswagen for parking press cars and sometimes even test cars.

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