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Copycat cars continue to be a Chinese art form

The BJ80C sits on a slightly longer wheelbase than the Mercedes-Benz G class. (NEWSPRESS)
JR
By:
Jay Ramey
March 28, 2017 05:00 AM
BLOG06_303299998_H1_1_BRISZTZODJVA.jpg Jay Ramey is an associate editor with Autoweek, an affiliate of Automotive News.

A number of Chinese cars in the 1950s and 1960s got their start from American and Russian designs, but the country is still having trouble advancing its own design language.

China is the largest automotive market in the world, but automakers there still routinely "borrow" exterior designs from Western companies, though the practice has become more controversial in 2017 than in the past.

Just recently, Land Rover and Chinese automaker Landwind (no relation) got into a legal skirmish over the Landwind X7's more than passing resemblance to the Range Rover Evoque. That skirmish ended predictably -- Chinese courts sided with Landwind, and Chinese consumers can now buy something that looks a lot like an Evoque for a third of the price.

 

HOLD_303299998_H2_-1_DNRUIOUTKQVC.jpg The Landwind X7, top, has borrowed virtually every exterior styling cue from the Range Rover Evoque. (JAY RAMEY)

The universe of copycat cars is vast, and U.K.'s Autocar has just emerged from the recording studio with this greatest-hits compilation of such efforts. The latest entry? An unconvincing clone of the pure-electric VW e-Up, whose range might fall a little short of the original. Check out Autocar's full list here.

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