Before it hits the Chinese market in April, the GAC Trumpchi GA8 has been put to the test as the official service car during the second G-20 Sherpa Meeting in the city of Guangzhou. At the meeting, the sherpas (officials who make preparations for a summit) laid the groundwork for the eleventh G20 summit, the first-ever G-20 to be hosted in China, which will be held on September 4 and 5 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
Wu Song, the general manager of GAC Motor, had the following to comment about the 40 cars the Chinese manufacturer provided at the second G-20 Sherpa Meeting: “We are very proud that the GA8 was chosen as the service car to support the Second G20 Sherpa Meeting as well as the annual NPC and CPPCC meetings. By making a strong appearance in the high-end service car market, the GA8 shows that GAC Motor is fully capable of developing the best automobiles to compete with international brands.”
The thing is, this is autoevolution and the Group of Twenty international forum for governments and central bank governors aren’t of interest to us. The Trumpchi GA8 manufactured by GAC Motor, on the other hand, is. After it made its debut as a concept at the 2015 Shanghai Auto Show in April, the real deal is set to go on sale after the production model steps into the limelight at the 2016 Beijing Motor Show.
Photo: GAC Motor
As the flagship of the Trumpchi range, efforts have been made on the styling front to make the GA8 look good. From the profile, we’re dealing with a sleek yet classy sedan. The C-pillar and front fascia are by far the strongest points of the exterior design. In terms of wheelbase, the GAC Trumpchi GA8 measures 9.51 feet (2.9 meters). That makes it a bit more commodious than a Mazda6 sedan and a little shorter than the wheelbase of the self-indulgent BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe.
On the oily front, the Chinese sedan will be offered with either a 1.8-liter turbo with 177 horsepower or a 2.0-liter turbo with 200 horsepower. Pricing hasn’t been announced at the time of writing, but the GAC Trumpchi GA8 should go on sale in the Middle Kingdom from 180,000 yuan, or $27,765 at current exchange rates.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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