Pininfarina is no stranger to unveiling concept vehicles at some of the world’s biggest auto shows. It was in Geneva just last month to debut the HK GT, a sleek electric vehicle that proudly showed off some of the biggest gullwing doors you’ll ever see. Not content with that, Pininfarina is attending the Beijing Auto Show with a new concept vehicle. It’s called the H500, and it’s a luxury fastback-like sedan that looks like the closest thing to a production model that Pininfarina has designed in recent memory.

There’s not much to go by as far as the teaser photo is concerned. From what we can tell, though, the H500 is a far departure from the HK GT. Whereas the HK GT wowed us with its eccentric styling, the H500 is a little more muted in its design. Dare I say; the car looks production-ready, doesn’t it? Could there be a bombshell waiting for us in Beijing when Pininfarina announces that is plans to become a full-fledged automaker is closer to reality than we think? I wouldn’t put it past the company to get to that stage this quickly considering that it has Mahindra backing it now.

But, back to the H500. Based on the teaser image, the concept looks stately and refined in a Pininfarina way. What that means is that the elegance it exudes is complemented by brash design elements, creating the perfect cocktail of sportiness and aggressiveness mixed in with class and sophistication. Check out the front section of the concept. You’ll notice that the design layout is similar to the front fascia of the HK GT. See those vertical bars peeking just below the ray of light coming out of the lights? Those bars look a lot like what we saw in Geneva with the HK GT.

It’s hard to make them out from a distance, but the concept also has fins on the fenders, just over the front wheels, that flow into the window sills of the driver and passenger windows.

Overall, the HK500’s teaser image points to what could be one of the most interesting concepts to hit the Beijing Auto Show floor. There is no mention of what kind of powertrain it’s going to carry yet, but the likely candidate is a plug-in hybrid drivetrain, or it could end up being a fully electric model. It is, after all, making its debut in China, a market that has made it a priority to embrace these types of cars over the traditional gas-engine types.

Don’t sleep on the HK500 to make a lasting impression in Beijing. It’s the fourth concept that Pininfarina has developed with the help of the Hybrid Kinetic Group. If it ends up going over in China, it might hold the distinction of being one of the first models to be released with a Pininfarina badge on it. That’s because there’s something about this concept that makes me wonder if that’s the path it’ll end up taking.

References

Read our full review on the 2018 Pininfarina HK GT.

Read more 2018 Beijing Auto Show news.