Hawtai B35, Porsche Cayenne Chinese Knockoff

We know, we know, you're tired of reading and seeing cheap Chinese replicas of more or less successful European car models. Frankly, we're a bit tired of telling you about them too. So tired in fact we've come to look at these knockoffs from a different perspective. The Chinese perspective.

Here we have the Hawtai B35, a more or less exact copy of the Porsche Cayenne in its previous embodiment. But is it a copy? Or a replica? Or a knock-off?

First of all, the Chinese don't even say it's a Porsche, nor do they say they tried to make one. They just made a... Hawtai. Secondly, it is not a copy, unless you consider a copy the result of borrowing a few elements from the exterior design of a German luxury SUV.

Thirdly, it's not a replica, just because it doesn't share all the elements, at least at design level, with the Cayenne. As for knock-off, it certainly isn't, as it is not called Puarsche Cayene.

And, above all, it is not a Porsche Cayenne. It isn't, because it packs a tiny little 1.8l engine supplied by SAIC as the powerplant of choice for the entry level version. It is also not a Porsche Cayenne because it is a... Hyundai Santa Fe. After all, it uses the Santa Fe platform, an older one, as a basis, not the Cayenne one.

The Hawtai B35 was presented at the Beijing Auto Show earlier this year. We tell you about it now because the model has just became available for purchase in Germany. Sorry, China.