About China's Coolest Cars
A Lexus LS400 sedan with black license plates, seen on a small car repair area in north Beijing in 2015. The good Lexus was covered with a thick layer of dust but it didn’t seem abandoned. It was painted in wine red and had its original allow wheels on.
Continue reading “Lexus LS400 With Early Black License Plates”
An Opel Astra hatchback, seen in Beijing in 2016. The compact family car was in a fine shape, painted in a light shade of silver with a black grille and black trim. Sadly, the front right wheel cover was missing, lost somewhere on the endless roads of the Chinese capital.
Continue reading “Opel Astra 1.6 16V Hatchback Is A Basic German Hatchback In China”
A Ferrari 458 Italia supercar, seen at a spa hotel in south central Beijing in 2016. The speedy Italian looked fantastic in white, with very dark windows, matte gray five-spoke alloys wheels and yellow brake calipers.
Continue reading “Ferrari 458 Italia In White With A Special License Plate In China”
A first generation Lincoln Town Car with black license plates, seen in central Beijing in early 2012. The big American sedan was in a perfect shape and looked almost as new. It was painted in pearl white with a dark-red vinyl top, further made pretty with darkened windows and still fitted with the original factory alloy wheels.
Continue reading “First Generation Lincoln Town Car Is An Perfect American Sedan In China”
A black Audi A6 sedan with white license plates, seen in Beijing in 2015. The big Audi was in a fine shape with darkened windows and the original allow wheels, which looked nice and shiny for their age.
White license plates for passenger cars were only issued in 2002 and 2003 in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen. It was an experiment were citizens were allowed to come up with their own alphabetical/numerical combinations.
The experiment was cancelled after citizens came up with far too much creativity, choosing for various combinations with ‘sex’, ‘CIA’, ‘FBI’, and the infamous USA-911 which appeared on a Beijing car not long after the September 11 attacks. After the ensuing uproar the experiment was killed off but owners were allowed to keep the non-offensive plates.
The second generation Audi A6 (C5/Type 4B) was made in China by FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun. Production started in 2004. Wheelbase was extended by 9 centimeters to 2850 for more space in the back. It was available with three engines: a 150 hp 1.8 turbo, a 170 hp 2.4 V6, and a 190 hp 2.8 V6. Prices started at 348.500 yuan. White plates are priceless.
An E100 Toyota Corolla sedan with diplomatic license plates, seen on a small car repair market in north Beijing in 2015. The good Toyota was in a pretty bad shape and appeared to be abandoned.
Continue reading “Toyota Corolla Sedan Of The Bulgarian Embassy In China”
An Audi V8 sedan, seen in 2019 in the mountainous Miyun District to the north of Beijing by Friend of the Site Arjan Philips, thak you for the photos! The sedan was part of a small but precious Audi collection.
Continue reading “A Fantastic Audi Collection In The Miyun Mountains In China”
A black JAC Binyue C20 sedan, seen in the ice cold winter of 2016 on a restaurant parking lot in the far south of the Chinese capital Beijing. The poor car was covered in ice and snow and had the spare wheel on the rear-right.
Continue reading “JAC Binyue C20 Is A Rare Mid-size Sedan In China”
A pretty Renault Megane Classic, seen near a Subaru dealer in the far north of Beijing. The good Megane was in perfect shape, with a smooth body and flawless paint, completely original and without any damage, rot, or rust.
Continue reading “First generation Renault Megane Classic Is A Classy French Sedan In China”
One of the most interesting things about life in Beijing is the unpredictability and spontaneity of the place – its honestly a city where you’ll rarely meet the same people or have the same experiences day-to-day. This also applied until fairly recently to the car-scene in the city, and what brings us to this Lancia Thema, one of the most interesting and unique cars I came across in China’s capital.
