Lifan to produce Mini Cooper lookalike

[Oracle of Delphi]

Kevin Huang

GUANGZHOU -- Another lookalike car has appeared in China: the Lifan 320 which looks very like the Mini Cooper.

Chongqing Lifan Holdings Co. says it plans to start mass production of the small car around September.

The car will carry a 1.3-liter gasoline engine produced by Lifan.

The company will also mount a 1.1-liter engine in the car from the beginning of next year. Lifan is currently testing the newly developed 1.1-liter engine.

The car will carry a five-speed manual transmission.

The company declines to disclose the price of the car, but says it will be "less than 50,000 yuan" ($7,243).

The five-seat car, which debuted in late April at the Beijing auto show, is 3,745 mm long, 1,620 mm wide and 1,430 mm high.

The company says it fully considered intellectual property rights issues when designing the car, so it has no worries about being sued for violating the intellectual property of other companies.

The company also says it may export the lookalike car from China in the future.

Lifan is still a tiny player in China's auto industry. The company's major products are motorcycles and general-purpose engines. It started producing cars in late 2005 and has to date only launched the 520 sedan and its hatchback version. It sold about 30,000 units of the 520 in 2007.

Link: http://www.autonewschina.com/en/article.asp?id=1582

[Intrepidation]

Looks like ass. It's not even a decent copy.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Looks like ass. It's not even a decent copy.

Short and to the point, I like that about you DF!

[Sixty8panther]

He's right.

This thing would be over priced if it was sold at the dollar store.

Why do 99% of these Chinese cars look like a 3 year

old designed them with a dull crayon!?

[SuperSport623]

front overhang like WHOA!

[Camino LS6]

All of the above.

[Blake Noble]

Keep it away from here.

[Polish_Kris]

The car will carry a 1.3-liter gasoline engine produced by Lifan.

The company will also mount a 1.1-liter engine in the car from the beginning of next year. Lifan is currently testing the newly developed 1.1-liter engine.

Produced by Lifan my ass, these Chinese cars ride on old Suzuki, Daihatshu, and Mitsubishi platforms. This particular 1.1, and 1.3 engines are taken from the Swift or the Alto.

You guys wanna know what's going on, browse around here: www.chinacarforums.com/forum

Edited June 26, 2008 by Polish_Kris

[CARBIZ]

front overhang like WHOA!

To accomodate the John Deere lawn tractor under the hood.........

[Peugeot_206]

To accomodate the John Deere lawn tractor under the hood.........

Actually, it's the old 1.6L Tritec in the old Mini Cooper.

[A Horse With No Name]

Looks like ass. It's not even a decent copy.

+1

Chris

[pow]

What's funny is that back in 2004, MINI created a viral spoof website for an agency called the Counter Counterfeit Commission, "Protecting every man, woman, and child's right to motor genuinely."

http://www.counterfeitmini.com

At the time, it was intended to be a joke for existing MINI owners and enthusiasts, and as an infomercial on cable TV, it was less expensive than traditional 30-sec ads. (They also did the MOTORmate infomercial.) Who would have predicted an actual counterfeit MINI?

[LeoC2]

What's funny is that back in 2004, MINI created a viral spoof website for an agency called the Counter Counterfeit Commission, "Protecting every man, woman, and child's right to motor genuinely."