Chances are you’ll know of Hongqi, the luxurious automobile arm of FAW and the oldest automotive model in China, with a protracted historical past of manufacturing automobile for state leaders and dignitaries. You might also know in regards to the L5, the corporate’s flagship, which grew to become well-known regionally when the primary second-generation unit was Gifted to the present Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar.
However its continued rarity and the actual fact it’s solely bought in China signifies that the automobile, now known as the Guoli (Chinese language for “nationwide present”), stays a curio for these residing exterior the Center Kingdom. Which is why it might come as a shock to know {that a} used unit reportedly broke the document for the one most costly Chinese language export, altering arms for a cool 11 million yuan (RM6.5 million).
In line with Automobile Information Chinathe automobile, exported from Erdos in China to the United Arab Emirates, was bought by Stanislav Semenov – founder and CEO of the Dubai-based quantitative buying and selling agency Eqvilent – having preordered the automobile at Auto Shanghai in April. Model new, the automobile has an official retail worth of seven.18 million yuan (RM4.2 million), though the unit that was exported was the personalized one-off Lanting Yayun, which can undoubtedly have value extra.
The Guoli sits on the prime of Hongqi’s Golden Sunflower vary of high-end automobiles and the previous-generation mannequin was the journey of alternative for president Xi Jinping – he has since stepped as much as the even greater N701constructed only for him. That’s to not say that the automobile is in any means small: at 5,980 mm lengthy, 2,090 mm broad and 1,710 mm tall, it’s nearly precisely the identical size because the Rolls-Royce Phantom Prolonged.
The marginally twee retro design is supposed to duplicate its first vehicles, with spherical headlights, a big chrome entrance grille, an upright glasshouse, thick C-pillars and vertical taillights flanking a boot lid with chrome strips. The retractable and illuminated bonnet decoration is tilted at 23.5 levels, which is equivalent to the Earth’s axial tilt. It’s stated to be pointing in the direction of Polaris, the north star.
Inside, the extravagance continues, each by way of tech – there’s a 12.3-inch digital instrument show, a large 16.2-inch infotainment touchscreen and an augmented-reality head-up show – and the opulence. The aforementioned centre display screen, as an example, rises up from the dashboard like a scroll unfurling, and also you additionally get deep pile carpets and inexperienced lacquered trim made to seem like jade. There are additionally 14-way power-adjustable entrance seats with heating, reminiscence and therapeutic massage features.
However after all, the rear is the place it’s at, with 16-way energy adjustment to match the 16 audio system, together with four-way powered headrest adjustment and a one-touch recline operate. The bosses on the again additionally get their very own self-importance mirrors, curtains and rear windscreen sunshade. Acoustic glass throughout and energetic noise cancellation guarantee near-total silence all through.
Semenov’s Lanting Yayun was impressed by the Orchid Pavilion Gathering of 353 CE, completed in blue with a silver bonnet, roof and boot lid and rolling on 21-inch polished chrome wheels.
Inside, the lacquered trim is as an alternative colored blue to imitate Ru kiln porcelain, whereas the entrance passenger sprint storage lid, C-pillar decor and rear centre console trim have been painted to breed scenes of the aforementioned gathering, with the storage lid additionally inlaid with gold foil. In the meantime, the headlining options Rolls-Royce-style hand-laid “starlight” illumination.
Energy comes from a 4.0 litre twin-turbocharged V8 that produces 381 PS and 530 Nm of torque, despatched to all 4 wheels by an eight-speed computerized gearbox. Regardless of all this energy, the Guoli’s scarcely-believable 3,150 kg kerb weigt signifies that it takes a full 7.9 seconds to get from zero to 100 km/h, on its solution to a prime velocity of 220 km/h.
Gallery: Hongqi L5 (Guoli) delivered to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar
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