Photo: Instagram | sugardesign_1
Unless you have a soft spot for Chinese cars, you'll be excused if you don't know what Hongqi is. But chances are you do, as it is the oldest passenger car marque in the People's Republic, having been founded back in 1959.
A subsidiary of FAW, Hongqi has several modern cars in its portfolio, and one of the most interesting is the H9. It is a full-size luxury sedan that targets models such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the Asian country, and it's related to the H7 executive sedan and HS7 luxury mid-size crossover.
Production of the Hongqi H9 commenced three years ago. The model measures 5,137 mm (202.2 in) from bumper to bumper, or just shy of the latest-gen S-Class, and has a 3,060 mm (120.5 in) long wheelbase. The longer variant adds 200 mm (7.9 in) between the axles, and in this configuration, space at the rear is comparable to that of the normal second-gen Rolls-Royce Ghost.
Hongqi offers the H9 with a choice of two powertrains, a 2.0L straight-four with turbocharging and a 3.0L V6 with supercharging, both fed by petrol. It comes in a single body style: a four-door sedan. By the looks of it, they don't plan to expand the family with a possible two-door model, but a coupe variant already exists in fantasy land. It was sketched by sugardesign_1, with the renderings making their way to the World Wide Web a few days ago, and we think such a ride would inevitably take a swing at the demised Rolls-Royce Wraith in Western markets.
The digital artist imagined it in a two-tone design, with blue on the upper parts of the body and gray on the lower sections. The vehicle retains that imposing grille up front with numerous vertical slats flanked by slim LED headlights and sports the same bumper design. The same goes for the rear end, which is defined by the vertical taillights linked together by a strip above the license plate and bumper with integrated diffuser. It appears that it has lost a few inches between the axles during the pixel rearranging process, and instead of four doors, it now has only two, which are longer than the front ones on the real thing.
Now, as we already told you, a hypothetical Hongqi H9 Coupe would try and fill the shoes of the Rolls-Royce Wraith, which recently left the production line for good. Normally, we wouldn't be fans of Chinese cars launching in the West, but several brands have already proved their worth, and we think if priced properly, the H9 would build a solid clientele. The question is, would you be ready to kick that traditional German luxury sedan out of bed for it?
Production of the Hongqi H9 commenced three years ago. The model measures 5,137 mm (202.2 in) from bumper to bumper, or just shy of the latest-gen S-Class, and has a 3,060 mm (120.5 in) long wheelbase. The longer variant adds 200 mm (7.9 in) between the axles, and in this configuration, space at the rear is comparable to that of the normal second-gen Rolls-Royce Ghost.
Hongqi offers the H9 with a choice of two powertrains, a 2.0L straight-four with turbocharging and a 3.0L V6 with supercharging, both fed by petrol. It comes in a single body style: a four-door sedan. By the looks of it, they don't plan to expand the family with a possible two-door model, but a coupe variant already exists in fantasy land. It was sketched by sugardesign_1, with the renderings making their way to the World Wide Web a few days ago, and we think such a ride would inevitably take a swing at the demised Rolls-Royce Wraith in Western markets.
The digital artist imagined it in a two-tone design, with blue on the upper parts of the body and gray on the lower sections. The vehicle retains that imposing grille up front with numerous vertical slats flanked by slim LED headlights and sports the same bumper design. The same goes for the rear end, which is defined by the vertical taillights linked together by a strip above the license plate and bumper with integrated diffuser. It appears that it has lost a few inches between the axles during the pixel rearranging process, and instead of four doors, it now has only two, which are longer than the front ones on the real thing.
Now, as we already told you, a hypothetical Hongqi H9 Coupe would try and fill the shoes of the Rolls-Royce Wraith, which recently left the production line for good. Normally, we wouldn't be fans of Chinese cars launching in the West, but several brands have already proved their worth, and we think if priced properly, the H9 would build a solid clientele. The question is, would you be ready to kick that traditional German luxury sedan out of bed for it?
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