About China's Coolest Cars
A super rare super early FAW-Volkswagen Audi 100 sedan, seen in 2015 in the Wangjing District in the the Chinese capital Beijing. The good Audi was in a reasonable shape for its age; paint was a bit tired and there was some damage under the left light headlight.
Continue reading “A Very Early FAW-Volkswagen Audi 100 In China”
A rare Bentley Continental GT Coupe Design Series China, seen in central Beijing in 2014, parked neatly on the pavement. It was painted in a pretty kind of blue, matching nicely with mega shiny wheels and trim.
Continue reading “Bentley Continental GT Coupe Design Series China Is Cool In Beijing”
A BMW 120i 1-Series Convertible, seen in Beijing in 2017. The open-top Bimmer was dusty, as all cars are in the capital, but otherwise okay, although the top seemed a bit loose at the back. It was painted in beige with a black top and gray wheels. Must be one of the most unassuming BMW cabriolets ever.
The first generation E88 BMW 1-Series Convertible was made from 2007 until 2014. In China, it was sold only for two years, in 2011 and 2012, and only in 120i spec. It didn’t sell well. Common wisdom says open cars are simply not popular here due to the air pollution, noise, and a lack of open-driving tradition. This wisdom is totally true. Even now, with much cleaner air in Beijing than in 2013, this hasn’t really changed.
Many car makers tried to sell convertible cars in China anyway and all of them failed. Only exception was Peugeot, which managed to sell quite a few of their funky 207 CC and 206 CC open-toppers. The BMW 120i Convertible was powered by 2.0 four with 152 hp and 200 Nm. In China, the only gearbox option was a 6-speed automatic. Power went to the rear wheels and top speed was a pretty speedy 212 km/h. BMW asked 368.000 yuan for the tiny convertible, which was a large pile of cash.
A Brabus Mercedes-Benz G500 4×4², seen on Beijing Tuning Tribe tuning street, on the very same day I met a speedy Lamborghini. The crazy off-road ready SUV looked brilliant in yellow with and dark gray detailing.
Continue reading “Brabus Mercedes-Benz G500 4×4² Is A Crazy SUV In China”
A cool Changhe Beidouxing X5E EV268, seen on a car dealer area in north Beijing in late 2019. The X5E looked nice in white with blue trim in grille and lights, which is very common Chinese on electric cars.
The Changhe Beidouxing X5E is an electric panel van. It is based on the petrol powered Changhe Beidouxing X5, which, in turn, is based on the first generation Suzuki Wagon R.
Continue reading “The Changhe Beidouxing X5E EV268 Is An Electric Van Based On The Suzuki Wagon R”
A Volkswagen Jetta taxi, seen in the Sanlitun embassy area in Beijing back in 2013. It was a hot summer day in July so the Beijing taxi driver took a well deserved rest. He was having a sleep with the driver seat down and his yellow shirt hanging down from the ceiling of the vehicle.
These yellow shirts are a thing. They became obligatory by law in 2007 in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Beijing taxi drivers, a notoriously grumpy bunch, didn’t like the shirts at all, but the Beijing government made clear that no shirt was no ride, so in the end early all taxi drivers complied.
Seeing a taxi driver having a nap like this was perfectly normal in times then. On any hot summer’s day you could find exhausted Beijing taxi drivers, riding for 12+ hours a day, taking a rest on any shaded street.
The FAW-Volkswagen Jetta used to be one of the most popular taxi’s in Beijing in the 2000’s and early 2010’s. Nowadays, most have been replaced by taxi’s made by the local Beijing-Hyundai joint venture.
Here we have a Daewoo Espero sedan, seen in the Dongzhimen area in Beijing in 2013. The good Daewoo was in a reasonable shape, painted in white and standing on steel wheels. It didn’t have license plates but there was an official temporarily license plate number behind the windshield (on the left on the photo).
Continue reading “Daewoo Espero Is A Rare South Korean Sedan In China”
A Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 SV super car, seen in late 2019 at the Tuning Tribe tuning street in east Beijing. The great German-Italian monster is painted in ‘Rosso Mars’ and further porned up with loads of dark gray carbon and black trim.
Continue reading “Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 SV Is Red In China”
An E39 BMW 530i, seen in January 2013 alongside the Liangma River in central Beijing. The Bimmer was in a fantastic shape, looking almost as new, and seemingly untouched by the muddy snow and ice.
Continue reading “A Black E39 BMW 530i In The Winter In Beijing”
A Volkswagen Santana 2000 police car, seen at a police show in 2011. I always loved to go to police equipment shows in China to check out new police cars. I went there just for fun, but there were also real coppers shopping for new wheels. Naturally, they arrived with their own police cars, like this Volkswagen Santana 2000.
Continue reading “Volkswagen Santana And Passat Police Cars In China”
