Hongqi (marque)
 
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| Division | |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Headquarters | Changchun, Jilin, China |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Owner | FAW Group |
| Parent | FAW Car Company |
| Website | faw-hongqi.com.cn (Chinese) |
| Hongqi | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 红旗 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 紅旗 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Red flag | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Hóngqí |
Hongqi is a Chinese luxury car marque owned by the automaker FAW Car Company, itself a subsidiary of FAW Group. Hongqi was launched in 1958, making it the oldest Chinese passenger car marque.
Original Hongqi models were only for high-ranking government officials and remained in production until 1981. The brand was revived in the mid-1990s.
In Chinese hongqi means "red flag", a Communist Chinese cultural symbol.
While the name has endured, the vehicles that bear the brand have been surprisingly varied. The erstwhile dignitary's car has become a taxi, a cut-rate businessman's sedan, and during the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China parade, returned to its roots and participated by carrying party leaders. If there is a common thread linking the disparate Hongqi cars besides brand name, it may be the fact that nearly all are based on modern technology. Today, party officials commonly prefer Audis.
The original Hongqi cars were a luxury item used for the transport of foreign dignitaries and the party elite. Although Chairman Mao claimed not to have been driven in a Hongqi until Nixon's 1972 visit, he did take a personal interest in the cars from the beginning.
Introduced on August 1, 1958, the first Hongqi was the CA72. By September, a convertible version intended to be used by dignitaries in National Day parades had appeared. The CA72's design was based on a . From the beginning, the full-size Hongqi was equipped with a 147 kW (200 PS; 197 hp) V8 engine. The grille was based on a traditional design of a Chinese fan, and still remains in use on Hongqis today.
First introduced in 1963, the CA770 model remained in production until 1980 albeit in limited numbers. Around 1,600 of these V8-engined Hongqis were built in total, and over the years various versions were released including a 1965 long-wheelbase model with three rows of seats and a 1969 armored version (CA772).
Between 1995 and 2006, foreign products were manufactured in China and sold as Hongqi models. These included the Audi 100 (CA7200/CA7220) and the Lincoln Town Car (CA7460). There were two Audi 100-based versions—the more luxurious "Century Star" and the smaller (1.8-litre) Hongqi Mingshi.
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Wikipedia