This black beauty is a Hongqi Mingshi CA7180A4E, seen near a Hongqi dealer in south Beijing. It was an an absolute perfect shape, the best of its kind I have ever seen.
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The interior looked as perfect as the exterior, with the leather and faux wood in perfect shape. Even the steering wheel looks as new!
The Mingshi CA7180A4E was made from 2000 until 2004. These short production runs were typical for Hongqi in those days; every few years they would launch yet another updated variant of essentially the same car.
They would also sell various variants alongside each other that were very similar in price, looks, and engines. This practice is of course very typical for the entire Chinese car industry, and continues until today.
The Mingshi CA7180A4E was based on the Audi 100 that was manufactured in China by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture. FAW, or First Auto Works, is also the owner of the Hongqi (Red Flag) brand.
Under a deal with Volkswagen FAW was allowed to use the Audi 100 as a base for a series of Hongqi-branded cars. Hongqi used various engines for this series, including a Volkswagen 1.8, a Chrysler 2.2, a Nissan 1.8, and a Nissan 2.0 V6.
The Mingshi CA7180A4E is powered by the Nissan 1.8. This engine delivered 114 hp, good for a claimed top speed of 180 km/h. Size: 4792/1814/1422, and wheelbase was 2687.
Price in 2000 started at 175.800 yuan.
The rear lights and wheels are actually Hongqi’s own design. Handwritten Hongqi badge above the license plate.
Badges with the entire designation were normal back then, and Hongqi continued with it until at least 2008, when most of other Chinese car makers had turned to slapping actual names on their cars. Ah, tradition..!
Shiny pipe tip was factory standard.
Have you seen a similar Hongqi in China? Show us! You can now upload images in the comments below.