Photo: WEI
The Chengdu Motor Show opens on August 27 (for the press) with at least one controversial vehicle: the Ora Ballet Cat. According to our friends at CarNewsChina, the second Beetle-wannabe EV from Ora is destined for girls, while the Ora Punk Cat is for boys.
Great Wall is the company that owns Ora and a luxury brand called WEI. When the latter started teasing another retro concept for the same automotive event, we thought it was completely new. It isn’t: it is an Ora Punk/Ballet Cat with different components.
Regardless of the name this new concept will have, just check its profile and tell us if you can’t find the similarities. The C-pillar is what makes it more evident that the WEI concept is just an Ora Punk/Ballet Cat, but there’s more: all the doors match, as well as the inner part of the fenders, which were not stretched to receive the different headlights and taillights that the WEI concept presents.
Great Wall also modified the front hood so that it looked like a 1950’s generic American car. The tailgate received a round bump that seems to house a spare tire. Yet, the profile of the WEI concept shows these were adaptations to something that already existed. Unfortunately for Great Wall, these changes were not very effective in hiding the original vehicle.
We would not be surprised if WEI decided to sell this “concept” with a higher price tag. If it were just meant to present a new style or anticipate a future vehicle – like concepts usually do – it would be utterly unique in terms of appearance, not a car that is clearly based on one that is going into production soon.
That said, we bet the WEI concept will offer the same LFP battery packs used by the Punk/Ballet Cat. They have two options: 47.8 kWh and 59.1 kWh, with NEDC ranges respectively of 401 km and 501 km in the Ora EVs. WEI could also offer a different battery pack – with ternary cells and more energy (and range).
We know cost-cutting is essential and that reusing is one of the three sustainability “Rs.” However, it is disappointing that Great Wall did that to a concept car that already uses a production vehicle that is a copycat of the VW Beetle. We’re sure it could do a lot better.
Great Wall is the company that owns Ora and a luxury brand called WEI. When the latter started teasing another retro concept for the same automotive event, we thought it was completely new. It isn’t: it is an Ora Punk/Ballet Cat with different components.
Regardless of the name this new concept will have, just check its profile and tell us if you can’t find the similarities. The C-pillar is what makes it more evident that the WEI concept is just an Ora Punk/Ballet Cat, but there’s more: all the doors match, as well as the inner part of the fenders, which were not stretched to receive the different headlights and taillights that the WEI concept presents.
Great Wall also modified the front hood so that it looked like a 1950’s generic American car. The tailgate received a round bump that seems to house a spare tire. Yet, the profile of the WEI concept shows these were adaptations to something that already existed. Unfortunately for Great Wall, these changes were not very effective in hiding the original vehicle.
We would not be surprised if WEI decided to sell this “concept” with a higher price tag. If it were just meant to present a new style or anticipate a future vehicle – like concepts usually do – it would be utterly unique in terms of appearance, not a car that is clearly based on one that is going into production soon.
That said, we bet the WEI concept will offer the same LFP battery packs used by the Punk/Ballet Cat. They have two options: 47.8 kWh and 59.1 kWh, with NEDC ranges respectively of 401 km and 501 km in the Ora EVs. WEI could also offer a different battery pack – with ternary cells and more energy (and range).
We know cost-cutting is essential and that reusing is one of the three sustainability “Rs.” However, it is disappointing that Great Wall did that to a concept car that already uses a production vehicle that is a copycat of the VW Beetle. We’re sure it could do a lot better.
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