From fake watches to phones they do it all. As we know, the Chinese are well known for many unusual things all around the globe. For the most part, the Chinese are also well known for imitating things and selling them at a much cheaper price. With that said how could cars be left behind? Here are a total of 10 copy cars that have come from China.
Fun Reads: 5 Ridiculously Expensive Number Plates In India
Ruili DoDa V8 (Toyota Alphard)
The Alphard has been Toyota’s luxury offering in the MPV segment and sits above the Toyota Innova Crysta. The Alphard is very popular amongst people who love back seat luxury and has established a name for itself.
On the other hand, the Chinese variant namely Ruili Doda does resemble the Alphard but only in terms of looks. The Ruili Doda is built by BAIC (officially Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd.) while the name features a V8 in it, it doesn’t mean that it features a V8 engine. Under the hood, it comes equipped with a Mitsubishi sourced 2.4-litre engine pushing the power output to just 165bhp.
Geely GE (Rolls Royce Phantom)
Well, it might seem a bit weird but yes, the Chinese haven’t left the opulent Roll Royce behind. The Geely GE is the imitation of none other than the God of luxury ‘The Rolls Royce Phantom’. With that said Gelly has taken the design specs of the Phantom to a whole new level. The Geely GE have imitated the same large front fascia, headlamps and even the ‘Spirit of Ecstacy’.
Wait there’s more:
In terms of power output, the Phantom holds an impressive 6.57-litre V12 engine whereas the Geely GE makes do with a 3.5-litre V6 engine, which to some eyes does justice as looks are the preferable thing which does them justice in order to attract you for the Geely GE.
Jiangnan TT (Maruti 800)
Hold your horses before going nostalgic theJiangnan TT is the Chinese take on the iconic Maruti Suzuki 800 and to some of just “800”. The Jiangnan TT is a quality offering by Zoyte which is quite known for imitating vehicles in the country.
Although, it’s been long since the Maruti Suzuki 800 has been discontinued in the Indian market but this one, the Jiangnan TT continues to go on sale in the Chinese and has been awarded the cheapest car in the country. The TT comes equipped with the same 800 cc engine as of the Indian 800 pushing the power output to a maximum 36 Bhp and 60 Nm of torque.
JAC P241 (Mercedes GL Class)
The Mercedes-Benz GLC is just another flagship SUV from the company. China-based JAC Motors or Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co., Ltd. has come up with their version of the GLC, called the P241 which borrows the exact same look as of the GLC. The P241 features the exact same headlamps and very similar styled DRL’s on the bumper. To some, it seems pretty hard to accept that the GLC isn’t very popular but still has managed to have a clone of itself.
Brilliance V5 (BMW X1)
Just to make things clear Brilliance is BMW’s Chinese partner in the southeastern phase. This shouldn’t come to you as a surprise that when the BMW X1 went on sale in the Chinese market it was in partnership with Brilliance. So it was very obvious for the Chinese partner to come up with their version of the X1 which they call the “V5”. The V5 supports similar styling specs as of the X1 but comes at a much cheaper price.
Changan Lingxuan (Toyota Innova Crysta)
The Toyota Innova Crysta is one of the best and probably the only MPV the company has to offer. The Innova Crysta can be considered the best of both worlds as it offers the best of everything and now that it comes in an all-new avatar you do have to pay a premium price for the same. However, if you are not willing to pay much and also want something similar to the Crysta your go-to option should be the Lingxuan.
Not so soon:
This first copy is mainly down to the side profile and can be considered as a much chubbier version of the Innova Crysta. The Changan Lingxuan comes powered with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 125 hp 160Nm of torque, sending the horses to the front wheels via its five-speed manual gearbox and at such convenient prices, the Lingxuan does not get an AMT.
Suzhou Eagle Carrie (Porsche Cayman)
Imagine if a Porsche had a baby with a Ferrari? that’s exactly China-based car manufacturer Suzhou has done with their car named “The Eagle Carrie”. The front fascia of the eagle carrie looks very similar to that of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta popularly extensively known as the poor man’s Ferrari with a rear of the Porsche Cayman. The eagle carrie has an electric powertrain.
Other noticeable feature is the model badging font which is also taken from Porsche as seen in the images.
Diablo VT (Lamborghini Diablo)
A Chinese company a Chinese carmaker has not only copied the same style specs but also the same name as the original car. Yes, we are talking about the Lamborghini Diablo or the Diablo VT as known to the Chinese, a straight rip-off of Lamborghini’s iconic sports menace.
To make things much worse this Chinese manufacturer also claims that that the Diablo VT is the first-ever sports car to be manufactured in China. With that said the Diablo VT is powered by a Toyota sourced V8 engine pushing the power to the front wheels with approximately 450bhp of power.
Geely Merrie 300 (Mercedes Benz C-Class)
Geely has again managed to make another entry in the list and this time have made a copy of Mercedes. The manufacturer has named it the Merrie 300 and by the looks of it seems to be a copy of the old-school Mercedes C-class. However, this clone is much cheaper than the original Mercedes C-class sedan but supports almost identical looks and design. Among other copied features the headlights, grille, the hood top logo ornament are much noticeable.
Victory S10 (Cadillac Escalade)
The Cadillac Escalade is known as the most famous American luxury SUVs. A highly comfortable model offering plenty of street presence. All thanks to its high popularity that this vehicle enjoys, the Chinese, who seem to have a thing for cloning famous vehicles, have even copied the Escalade as well. Known as the Victory S10, this clone looks a lot like the Escalade. However, unlike the huge engines that power the popular Cadillac SUV, the Victory S10 gets a pretty humble 2.0-litre engine that outputs 116 bhp.
Jaskaran Singh Bholahttps://gomechanic.in/blog
Senior Content Strategist at GoMechanic | Avid Honda lover | VTEC for life! | Foodie | Remember who you are; the best or nothing!
