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Mercedes-Benz G-Class Finally Copied by The Chinese

In this day and age, hearing about yet another fake product hailing from China - be it a smartphone or an entire car - is largely part of the norm, with the Chinese becoming known as some of the most prolific copycats in modern history.
Beiqi BJ80 6 photos
Photo: Auto Sohu
Beiqi BJ80Beiqi BJ80Beiqi BJ80Beiqi BJ80Beiqi BJ80
When it comes to cars, most successful European models can meet up with their evil twins in less than a year after their introduction in some cases, as most Chinese copy centers automotive companies can move at a much faster pace than their counterparts.

This is happens mostly because the R&D departments are probably non-existent, as the development was already carried on the original vehicles.

Which brings us to the following Mercedes-Benz G-Class Beiqi BJ80, an all-new Chinese off-roader that was unveiled at this year's edition of the Beijing Auto Show and fitted with a four-liter V8 of unknown origin (Audi, maybe?). As you can see, the G-Wagen roots aren't hidden at all, but the overall design has also been adorned with a couple of Jeep/Hummer styling accents here and there.

As far as we know, the G-Class is the only Mercedes-Benz from the current lineup that hadn't been copied by a Chinese car manufacturer, but we may be wrong. One thing is for sure though, it took the people from the Middle Kingdom over 34 years to copy the legendary off-roader, so that must count for something.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the company behind the humorously-named Beiqi BJ80 is actually BAIC Group, who have been in a relationship with Daimler AG for quite a few years now. We wonder what Dieter Zetsche has to say about it.
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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