About China's Coolest Cars
A very beautiful Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL in China, seen at a small car restoration shop north of Northern Section of the Fifth Ring Road in Beijing. The great Mercedes was in very good shape and fully original.
Continue reading “A Silver W126 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL In China”
Back in the summer of the great year 2004, I was invited to the launch event of Dutch supercar maker Spyker in China. The company shipped in a beautiful Spyker C8 Spyder, painted in purple with a red-beige interior. It was unveiled to the media at the capital’s famous Zhengyangmen Gate.
And on that day in 2003, I went to an old housing complex in Beijing. It is very beautiful and fully accessible but tourists have never found out about it, and as far as I know the place still exists. Luckily, I saw some great cars.
Continue reading “A Fiery Red Pontiac Firebird And Some Other Great Cars In Beijing”
Back into July 2003 I went to the great Goldenport circuit in northeast Beijing to see some speedy racing. In those days, the track wasn’t in a very good shape but the atmosphere was fantastic. Lots of on and off track action below, with fast cars, cool cars, and some babes.
Continue reading “Going To The Races At Goldenport In Beijing In 2003”
An Isuzu television bus, seen under a flyover of the Third Ring Road in Beijing in 2005. It looked like it had been there for quite a while. The yellow 京A license plate is very old and ultra rare.
An absolutely perfect Mercedes-Benz 280 GE, seen in a repair shop on a car market in the south of the Chinese capital Beijing. The blue G was in mint-condition and totally original inside and out.
Continue reading “A Blue W460 Mercedes-Benz 280 GE In Beijing”
A Beijing BJ130 water tank truck, seen inside the Forbidden City in Beijing in 2004. The truck belonged to the Forbidden City’s own fire department and stood in a somewhat faraway area of the enormous palace complex.
The truck comes with yellow inner-headlights, tiny narrow wheels, mirrors on the front-front fenders, and superbly basic 5-yuan reflectors on each side of the grille.
The Beijing BJ130 was manufactured by Beijing No.2 Auto Works from the mid-1970’s until the late 1980’s. It was powered by the famous 4-cylinder North 492 gasoline engine that was used in many vehicles made in those days. The engine was mated to a four-speed manual.
Until 2010 or so you could still see these great trucks standing around in the older areas of Beijing but these days most are gone and forgotten. I don’t think our fire truck is in the Forbidden City anymore, but at least she will be remembered!
A fantastic dark blue Wuling LZ 100 mini truck, seen in the great city of Dali in Yunnan Province in 2006 during a long trip through southern China. The car was likely made in the late 1990’s. It was in a very good shape, with the original decals, and wheels. The rear freight container was a factory option. Note the Changan-Suzuki Alto City Baby on the left side of the road.
Continue reading “Three Fantastic Wuling Mini-cars In Southern China”
A Hafei Songhuajiang police van parked behind an intriguing partially-home made dual-axle 5-wheel flat-bed motorbike. I saw these two cars in a small village on the far west of Beijing back in the summer of 2006.
The Hafei has the word ‘police’ in English above the windshield, which is rather unusual. Normally there would be a Chinese term in that place. Songhhuajiang police minivans usually seat four officers + a bunch of criminals in a cage in the back. It didn’t seem on active duty anymore.
The motorbike was clearly in use and available for rent. The owner likely got his inspiration from these monsters. Note the extensions on the handlebars to protect the driver’s hands from sunshine. In winter, these will be replaced with thick gloves against the cold.
In the old villages around the capital you can still find all sorts of fascinating old vehicles, even today, but it is getting less and less. With the electrification of everything the old petrol cars are slowly disappearing. Go there before it is too late!
A beautiful black Hongqi CA7221 L long-wheelbase limousine, seen in central Beijing in 2010. The Hongqi was in a fine shape, with the original hood ornament and the factory-standard alloys.
Continue reading “The Hongqi CA7221 L Is A Long-wheelbase Chinese-German Limousine”
