GAC Group was the only Chinese automaker present at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, yet they did present a pretty unique concept that caught the attention of a lot of people.
The concept is called the E-JET, a hybrid sedan prototype whose design characteristics remind us of another just-introduced vehicle at Detroit (Is this the Chinese cousin of the CLA Class?). The E-JET measures 4,570 x 1,790 x 1,490 mm (179.9 x 70.4 x 58.6 inches) with a 2,620 mm (103.1-inch) wheelbase. Not too bad for what looks like a compact sedan.
As a range-extending hybrid, the E-JET is powered by a 1.0-liter, four-cylinder gas engine that produces 60 horsepower and 60 pound-feet of torque. It also has a permanent-magnet motor that produces a peak output of 127 horsepower and a permanent-magnet generator produces 40 horsepower. On top of all that, a 13 kWh lithium-ion battery can power the E-JET in electric mode for up to 62 miles.
Put all of its powertrain capabilities together and you have a car that boasts of a total range of 373 miles with a fuel consumption of 1.9 l/100 km (123.8 mpg U.S. or 148.6 mpg UK), a 0 to 31 mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 99 mph.
We’re not entirely sure if GAC has any intention of building a production model for the E-JET. But we do have to give it to them; this is one interesting concept.
If you needed any more proof of the burgeoning auto gold mine that China is fast becoming, don’t look any further than Chevrolet releasing a special edition Cruze in that market.
We get limited run exotics and the supercar variety, but a Cruze? It’s not exactly the first model you’ll think of when releasing a special edition model in China. But that’s the kind of growth the Chinese market has had in recent years, enough for automakers like Chevy to green light a unique variant for a mid-size car like Cruze.
In any case, the Cruze WTCC Edition was designed to celebrate Chevrolet’s success in the WTCC racing series. The car itself carries race-inspired graphics and a slew of new body kit components that include a new rear bumper, modified side skirts, and a truck-mounted spoiler. Looking at the overall product,
As far as the engine goes, the Cruze WTCC Edition comes with a choice of powertrains, including a 1.6-liter gas engine that produces 115 horsepower and 111 pounds-per-feet of torque and a more powerful 1.8-liter gas engine that delivers 145 horsepower and 130 pounds-per-feet of torque.
For a chance to own one, you’ll have to be in China with 123,900 yuan, or about $20,000, to spend.
Add Jeep to the list of automakers looking to ingratiate themselves to the Chinese market. The American automaker has announced plans to offer a special edition Grand Cherokee SRT8 exclusively to the Chinese market.
Yeah, what’s new, right?
Called the Hyun Black Edition, the special make Grand Cherokee SRT8 is actually no different from the SRT8 Vapor Edition Jeep announced earlier this year. The SUV will retain the Brilliant Black paint finish to go with plenty of chrome accents, tinted bi-xenon headlights, a gloss black painted grille, black badging that we, presume will be the only difference in the Hyun Black Edition from the Vapor Edition, and a new set of 20" aluminum wheels.
Performance capabilities will also be similar because the Hyun Black Edition is expected to be powered by a 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine that produces a stout 470 horsepower and 465 pounds-per-feet of torque, allowing the SUV to hit 0-60 mph in just 4.8 seconds with a top speed of 160 mph.
For all the impressive qualities of the Grand Cherokee SRT8 Hyun Black Edition, there is one caveat: the model is currently available for order in China with a price of 1.19 million yuan. That, dear friends, is around $190,000 based on current exchange rates. It’s a figure that’s almost four times as much as the Vapor Edition Grand Cherokee.
Technology has come a long way even in the past couple of years. That’s especially more evident when somebody from halfway around the world asks somebody to do something on their cars.
That’s the situation Canadian tuner SR Auto Group found itself in after a Chinese customer asked SR to work on his Ferrari 458 Italia, a project that was only accomplished because of what SR described as a lot of "persistence, drive, and ambition".
The pretty cool part about this story was how the Chinese customer found about SR Auto Group. Care to venture a guess?
Yup, he found SR Auto Group online.
To its credit, SR Auto Group went ahead and did the build, dressing up the Ferrari supercar with what looks like a chrome-red body. The two-tone treatment also includes a polished-black hood and roof, and concludes with a set of 19-inch Modern Black PUR 4OUR Monoblock wheels.
The project took a couple of months to finish, but in the end, all parties involved got what they wanted. And they have the continuous growth of technology to thank for it.
If you thought the Audi R8 China Edition was rare, then you’ll be shocked to know that there’s a limited-edition model that’s even rarer than that. This is the Audi R8 V10 Limited Edition and, as its name suggests, Audi is only building a select number of these babies — 30 in all — for the Chinese market. To distinguish itself from the rest of the R8s out there, including the aforementioned China Edition, Audi decided to dress up the R8 Limited Edition in a unique Nordic Gold paint finish that, on looks alone, can make a serious case as a permanent color option for the R8.
Aesthetic modifications are also abound for this limited-run model, highlighted by front and rear air intakes and outlets, lightweight tailpipes, and a radiator grille that has been finished in matte black. The dress up continues with the front and rear slats. Additionally, the rear bumper, and the radiator grille surround and bars all sport a matte-titanium-grey finish. The front spoiler, side blades, fixed rear wing and the enlarged diffuser have been upgraded to carbon matte.
Inside, the R8 Limited Edition features sports bucket seats and headlining, both of which have been dressed with black Alcantara with contrasting stitching and piping, and the knee pad now comes in shark skin black with its own contrast stitching. Carbon matte, or at least inlays of it, was also used inside, particularly the A-pillar and the door pulls. To assert the limited-edition nature of this R8, the aluminum gear knob comes with a limited edition number, ranging from 1 to 33 with the numbers 4, 14, and 24 excluded from the list. Why, you ask? The number "4" equates to bad mojo for the Chinese.
Audi China has priced the R8 Limited Edition at 2,628,000 yuan, which is around $420,000 based on current exchange rates, an amount that affluent and passionate Chinese auto enthusiasts won’t have trouble shelling out.
We totally get why automakers from all over the world are suddenly falling over themselves trying to get some love in China. After all, it’s already the world’s largest auto market and the wide diversity of buyers in the country has given automakers of all levels opportunity to establish themselves and gain some footing in the market.
For its offering, Audi decided to build an R8 V10 China Edition specifically for this purpose. The car is limited to only 80 units and comes in a choice of two colors: Malibu Blue Body/Suzuka Grey Sideblades or the inverse Suzuka Grey Body/Malibu Blue Sideblades. Look at the photos and it’s easy to be enamored with the color choices Audi decided to use on the R8 China Edition.
In addition to the color choices, the R8 China Edition also makes prevalent use of ultra-light and high-strength carbon fiber. Both the R8’s body — the carbon matte fixed spoiler — and the interior are decked in carbon fiber, making for a true special edition model that lives up to the “special” designation. Rounding out the modifications for the 80-unit R8 China Edition is a set of 19-inch, high-gloss black wheels in a 5 twin-spoke “Y” design, further stamping the uniqueness and exclusivity of this special-edition supercar.
The interior of the R8 also strengthens its billing as a special edition. It includes the characters “R8 专享” to go with the model number embedded on the aluminum gear lever knob. Notice also that any number with a “4” on it has been removed to "respect the cultural habit of Chinese customers,” as it is considered unlucky – like the number 13 in the U.S., but intensified.
Adding to the supercar’s luxury swag are materials that include shark skin and colored stitching, the handbrake and steering wheel are wrapped in Alcantara, and the instrument shield is finished in carbon matte. Finally, R8 emblems also adorn the interior of the supercar, particularly on the dash and the aluminum door sill trims.
The entire cost of the R8 China Edition hits at 2,628,000 yuan, which is around $420,000 based on current exchange rates.
We’ve had a pretty exciting 2012 with so many supercars, special editions and one-offs being released this year. There’s one of these bad boys that we still haven’t seen yet with the exception of some camouflaged spy videos and teaser images here and there, and that’s the Ferrari F70.
As the successor to the iconic Enzo, the F70 is a big deal. A pretty huge deal, in fact. So, it comes as no surprise that the entire automotive world is eager to see what the F70 is going to look like and are foaming at the mouth to find out its performance credentials.
Well, we have some interesting news regarding the former because it appears that a teaser photo of the F70 was unveiled at a recent Ferrari event in China. The photo, which comes by way of a Chinese Weibo page via GT Spirit, shows a Prancing Horse supercar peeking out of the shadows with the headlights and the air vents on the hood clearly distinguishable.
We wish there was a clearer photo of the car, but seeing as we’ve been hopelessly waiting for photos of the F70, we’ll take any photo of it anyway we can get it.
Rumors about a possible Koenigsegg One:1 special edition started to surface on the Internet a few weeks ago. Until now, it has been rumored that its odd usage of the number one in its name is because it will be a one-off model. New details are now suggesting that there will be five units built and that the name has nothing to do with the number of units produced.
In an interview with Cars UK, Christian von Koenigsegg reported that the car’s One:1 name is in fact a reference to its power-to-weight ratio — 1 horsepower for every 1 kg of weight. This means that the next supercar will deliver somewhere between 1,250 and 1,350 horsepower, which is a significant increase over the Agera R’s 1,140 horsepower.
Von Koenigsegg also announced that the supercar is still in its early stages of development and a production date is not set. We anticipate that all five units will be sold on the Chinese market, and the price will be near $2 million.
For now, this is all of the information we have on the One:1. We do, however, have our own rendering of what we think this new hyper car will look like, which you can see above. We’ll keep you updated as more information rolls out.
A few weeks ago, word started spreading that a special edition - a one-off, actually - Koenigsegg Agera was being built for a Chinese client with pockets that run as deep as the Mariana Trench.
Now, word has it that the car, christened as the Koenigsegg One:1, is already on track for completion. As this recent batch of photos will tell you, the one-off hyper car appears to be closed to finish with plenty of design modifications from the already ultra fast Agera.
Judging from the photos, the Koenigsegg One:1 has a radical body design that features an accented checkerboard carbon fiber finish on pretty much the entire body, including the more aggressive lower front splitter, the roof, the hood, and the rear spoiler. Carbon fiber is also present on the wheels while the rear seems to have been treated to a completely redesigned rear end with matching diffuser and exhaust tips.
All in all, the One:1’s look makes the standard Agera look bland and mundane by comparison, something that’s also evident in the powertrain its expected to carry. We already mentioned earlier that the One:1 will feature a modified version of the Agera’s 5.0-liter V8 engine with a rumored output of 1,400 horsepower.
That’s some serious juice that only a few production cars in this world can even come close to sniffing.
Now that the Koenigsegg One:1 looks ready to roll and be delivered to this obscenely wealthy Chinese individual, you can add this extreme hyper car to that very short list.
Last month, Koenigsegg unveiled the very cool Agera R BLT - a one-off supercar specially customized for a very rich Chinese customer using the company’s latest customer customization program. Unfortunately, the owner never had a chance to enjoy his one-off supercar because the Chinese officials have already seized the car.
Chinese officials stated that the car had been smuggled, since the driver never paid the import tax upon receipt of the vehicle. One look at the import tax and just about everyone will be able to see why the owner wanted to skip out on it. The Agera R BLT sold for $2.35 million, but after applying the import taxes, the price skyrocketed to $4.7 million - twice the value of the car. Yeah, anyone’s checkbook would raise an eyebrow on that one.
What makes the situation worse is that, according to the Chinese police, this seize is just part of a bigger anti-smuggling campaign that has netted vehicles from Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Porsche, Audi, and Range Rover. We all have to pay our taxes, people!
