From the Side, China's New Ultra-Luxury Sedan Could Almost Pass for a Rolls-Royce. From the Front, It Looks Like a Demented Cartoon Character
Posted by rstune@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 71 comments
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DUVAL_LAVUD@reddit
lol this looks horrendous
FeemBleem@reddit
Apparently the designer for the Guoya is Giles Taylor who is the former design chief for Rolls-Royce.
Santa_Hates_You@reddit
Looks like a GTA knockoff of a Rolls.
FeemBleem@reddit
The designer for the Guoya is Giles Taylor… who is the former design chief for Rolls-Royce.
cookingboy@reddit
It’s a modern version of their long time design language. As far as Chinese OEM goes Hongqi is probably the oldest, they literally made the car for Mao and other high level Chinese officials.
This car is just a modern (and gaudy imo) version of this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Hongqi_CA72_1959.jpg
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
Really no wonder why they now exporting to Russia, as Hongqi models were exactly come from Soviet automakers.
cookingboy@reddit
lol yep. And also Russia still loves gas cars, and due to sanction the rich can’t buy German OEMs anymore, so Hongqi is now popular there.
rstune@reddit (OP)
Oh interesting..that puts the design more in context and makes a lot of sense. Thanks for that! Really cool.
K_R_A_K_E_N_540@reddit
I hope one day you'll get to see one in person. Makes the Rolls Royce look cheap
FictionalContext@reddit
It's that garish thing people do when they're coming from not having much and want to flex how much wealth they have now.
rstune@reddit (OP)
like this jolly fella
lurpeli@reddit
It really doesn't look worse than some of the recent "gaping grill" BMWs. The styling is 100% what I expect from a Chinese manufacturer.
cookingboy@reddit
Except if you look around at Chinese EVs you’d see most of them don’t have any grilles at all. Hongqi is one of the legacy OEMs (they literally made the limo for Mao) so they are just going on with their legacy design.
This is the actual best selling full size luxury car in China right now, the Huawei Maestro: https://creators.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/this-new-luxury-car-didnt-just-pass-a-crash-test--it-sets-a-new-benchmark-172135736.html
As you can see, no grille at all
cat_prophecy@reddit
EVs don't have grilles because 1) aerodynamics and 2) they're unnecessary on an EV.
cookingboy@reddit
Tell that to BMW lmao
rstune@reddit (OP)
Wow that is slick! Man did the Chinese really up their game in the design dept in a few short years. I think Huawei just started 4 years ago or maybe that's xiaomi.
cookingboy@reddit
Xiaomi started 2 years ago, and Huawei around the same time
lurpeli@reddit
The EVs don't have grills yeah, but what about their gas vehicles?
cookingboy@reddit
Nobody gives a shit about their gas vehicles, not even in China.
ICE makes up for less than half the market share in China, and a tiny proportion of it is from Chinese OEMs.
And as far as Western OEM goes, their Chinese specific models all have small grilles. For example BMW sells the big grilles model almost exclusively outside of China, and you have to special order and import them (M3/4, i4, XM, etc).
But their Chinese only i3 looks like a regular G20 3-series.
xlb250@reddit
BEV was 35% market share last year. The majority of cars were sold with an ICE engine.
TangerineBroad4604@reddit
What about designed by a former Rolls-Royce designer lol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_Taylor
lurpeli@reddit
Whether it was designed by a Chinese person or not, it's very clear the design elements are meant to appeal to the Chinese sensibilities when it comes to cars.
ALOIsFasterThanYou@reddit
I would note that the lackluster Chinese sales performance of the giant-grille Germans would seem to indicate, however, that the Chinese market doesn’t seem to value big noses as much as is commonly assumed.
For that matter, the current flagship giant-grille-equipped Hongqis are virtually non-existent in the luxury market, too.
Comparatively, the sales leader, the Huawei Maextro, doesn’t have a grille at all.
xlb250@reddit
It could also indicate weakening consumer spending power and overcrowded car market.
cookingboy@reddit
Nah, grilles aren’t popular at all in China. Almost none of Huawei, BYD, Xiaomi, XPeng, Li Auto’s cars have big grilles.
Hongqi is an exception because it’s a legacy OEM that made cars like this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Hongqi_CA72_1959.jpg
So grill is their design identiy lol
strongmanass@reddit
"A former Rolls Royce designer" is selling Giles Taylor extremely short. He took over for Ian Cameron and oversaw the Cullinan, Phantom VIII, and Ghost Series II, as well as the expansion of Coachbuild (though I think he gave Innes a lot of latitude). Whatever you think of his designs, few people in the world better understand what those buyers want from the design of that kind of car.
Key_Budget9267@reddit
No angry headlights, in this economy? Awesome, we need more cars with the :D front end treatment.
rstune@reddit (OP)
like this jolly fella
fuzzylogicIII@reddit
This is what I think of when I see the back of a 458
rstune@reddit (OP)
Haha right. Never liked those stupid lights either. Ruined a pretty car otherwise.
cat_prophecy@reddit
Which is which? The top one looks better.
AtomWorker@reddit
I'm not a fan of the 458 but the modded version is a mess.
rstune@reddit (OP)
Oh really, interesting. I find it really well done and a big improvement. Goes to show that different people can have different tastes. In French we have a saying that goes: on ne discute pas les gouts et les couleurs, which is a fancy way of saying to each their own.
uncleawesome@reddit
or this one
rstune@reddit (OP)
Han never noticed the happy face in Miatas. That's really cool.
alfredadamski@reddit
Why do the headlights resemble the ones of the Ssangyong Chairman H (2005 - 2011) ?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SsangYong_Chairman
(By the way, I always wished that I would be able to buy Ssangyong, yes, the whole company. It was bought by KG Group was renamed KGM. The new models look really good. All what they need is advertising, more dealers and a fresh new compact SUV to replace the current Tivoli. And of course, some more engine option. And it would be great to enter the US market.)
IAmWellBehaved@reddit
If you've been interested in the brand, you're probably well aware but SsangYong did have aspirations of entering the US market back in the 2010s.
Bummer the Chairman model line got dropped either way. While I get that the H and W kinda stuck out from their usual line of low-ish cost utility vehicles I still liked them. Replacing them with a Chairman E, a fully electric full-size sedan, would've made it unique in the Korean domestic market, though I doubt they had the resources to make (a good) one.
cat_prophecy@reddit
I'll remember this next time someone tries to convince me that it's not China that lose big grilles.
IAmWellBehaved@reddit
I'd love to drive the V-8 and see how it compares all-around to the Maybach S580 and Toyota Century.
claspen@reddit
Front 3/4 is 100% Bentley Mulsanne vibes
arsinoe716@reddit
I think it looks good.
rstune@reddit (OP)
Someone call a wellness check on this guy 😛
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K_R_A_K_E_N_540@reddit
I've seen it in person. It 100% can go toe to toe and in my opinion beat the pants off of Rolls Royce
Eccentric_M@reddit
Front looks like a Ford Scorpio II
rstune@reddit (OP)
Haha exactly. Said the same in another comment
Eggith@reddit
Good heavens, that thing is going to eat whatever unfortunate pedestrian falls in front of it
rstune@reddit (OP)
A closer look: https://youtu.be/Gxc4Fb-r_08?si=A8hneFtRJmC6gxq_
Oh and finally remembered what it reminded me of. The equally hideous Ford Scorpio I think it was called
strongmanass@reddit
I don't see the big deal. It has a bluff front end with a big upright grille. Standard ultra-luxury stuff. These cars aren't meant to be attractive, they're meant to be imposing. If they also end up being attractive, great. But that's not the point.
rstune@reddit (OP)
Oh yeah, wecre just having a bit of fun is really not that bad! But as the article says China particularly loves big imposing grills as a status symbol, and the reason bmw went full beaver with them. It was funny that the designer at the time said I don't care about complaints from European customers. We're catering to Chinese taste where we sell a lot more.
strongmanass@reddit
So do Europeans and Americans. Those are all major markets for Rolls Royce who proudly name their huge grille after one of the most famous places of worship in history.
There's a lot more nuance to it than that.
ArthurFinchleyIII@reddit
What an awful, ad-infested website. I tried to find a side profile and gave up.
rstune@reddit (OP)
Ublock origin is what you need. Didn't see any ads there...
ArthurFinchleyIII@reddit
Mobile app
rstune@reddit (OP)
Oh I got adguard on my android which helps block ads in all apps. Got a lifetime deal for it and it's great. Also have ublock origin on Firefox Mobile which helps too.
ALOIsFasterThanYou@reddit
I don’t see this meaningfully taking market share from Huawei’s Maextro S800, which I would say is the standard-bearer of current-day Chinese ultra-luxury, in terms of sales and technology.
Granted, the S800 is currently about half the price of this, but they’re coming out with a Grand Design variant this month that will be much more of a direct competitor.
Santa_Ricotta69@reddit
I think it looks cool. Call it overstyled if you want, but it looks better than the 7 Series and anything with massive Mercedes emblems in the lights.
zarif2003@reddit
Looks pretty nice
Facuk_@reddit
Good looking car imho better design than newest merc..
rstune@reddit (OP)
You mean the abomination that is their new AMG GT? what on earth were they thinking. smh !
Their design language over the left few years has been really strange. All I can think of is dove soap bars when I look at them
Facuk_@reddit
Yeah, that abomination
coexee@reddit
Shit thats ugly
MidnightSunIdk@reddit
The side profile is literally a maybach 😭
timetravelerfrom2027@reddit
Imgur photo so you can avoid that terrible website:
https://imgur.com/a/DcU81yk
trail-g62Bim@reddit
That bottom one looks like a render...is it a real car or a render?
MRDR1NL@reddit
Temu style Photoshop
HardLithobrake@reddit
What in the goddamn
Quantum_Tangled@reddit
🤢🤮
Pass.
geoantho@reddit
That's the Lincoln Maybach Royce.
whatdoido8383@reddit
LMAO, yep, about what I expected a Chinese luxury car to look like... I can't afford anything like that, but even if I could, that monstrosity wouldn't be on my list. Yikes.
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