Do Chinese car manufacturers remain the sole source of dream-inspiring vehicles?

Where has the automobile passion gone among our historic manufacturers? This is a question that we can ask ourselves more and more regularly, particularly with electric cars. On the side of traditional manufacturers, the ranges have become somewhat insipid, with SUV/Crossover in all sauces, sometimes embellished with one or two sedans a little pretty. Profitability has killed all creativity for models that are a little out of the ordinary, even in the luxury market.

No need to wait for the next Beijing motor show, which will take place from April 25 to May 4, 2024, to already observe that Chinese manufacturers are daring what the historics no longer even try to consider in their range. The latest slap comes from the Fang Cheng Bao brand with the Super 9, discovered on April 16 on the media CarNewsChina.

A bold supercar concept from BYD's luxury arm

Fang Cheng Bao is one of the brands of the BYD group, along with Denza and Yangwang. It is positioned on high-end models for the Chinese market. But like other brands, nothing says that these models will not be exported to Europe. If for its first models, the young brand focused on large SUVs, Fang Cheng Bao will exhibit the Super 9 concept at the Beijing motor show.

It's an electric speedster with a really daring design, at least when your name isn't Ferrari. It really is a particularly radical choice to opt for a vehicle without a windshield, with two seats separated by the carbon fiber monocoque body and with a competition-style steering wheel. This supercar concept was unveiled during an event ahead of the show, although no features have been announced yet, just the design says a lot about the brand's ambition.

Ferrari Monza SP2, Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss, Aston Martin V12 speedster, this type of atypical vehicle has already existed in several luxury brands, with vehicles produced in a few copies. Fang Cheng Bao is not inventing anything, even if he is the first to imagine it with an electric motor. The group just gave group designer Wolfgang Egger (formerly Lamborghini and Audi) carte blanche to express himself freely. It will be particularly interesting to follow if the brand completes the challenge by marketing it. It is still surprising that this concept is presented by Fang Cheng Bao and not the Yangwang brand, which is supposed to be the most luxurious brand of the group.

Yangwang U9, MG Cyberster,… The Chinese now know how to make eyes shine

If the speedster is perhaps a little too extreme, Chinese manufacturers are also developing other electric cars which can rekindle a little passion for beautiful bodies. The Xiaomi SU7 sedan alone has already captured attention for its elegant design.

MG recalled that it was perfectly possible to produce an electric convertible, in a market which almost only offers rational cars. The MG Cyberster should be talked about again soon in Europe. This model will probably never display extraordinary sales volumes, but it will at least have the merit of bringing a little passion.

BYD also decided that electric cars could not only be limited to city cars, sedans or SUVs, but that it was also necessary to look at supercars. This is what the brand did with the astonishing Yangwang U9. In addition to having a design that has little to envy of European luxury brands, this model is technically advanced.

We can desperately wait for the promises of Elon Musk with his Tesla Roadster that the public has been waiting for… Too long now. Where we can look towards a country which can afford to dare this kind of fantasies, because the electric market there is sufficiently mature to be able to support these models which are not necessarily profitable for the brands. This upsets the established order a little, we'll have to get used to it.

It should still be noted that Maserati is trying the exercise with its Gran Cabrio Folgore. European brands have perhaps not yet given up, even if they do so in a very (or too) conventional way.