And that day in 2010 I went to a new-energy show in Beijing. Local hero Beijing Auto Industry Corporation (BAIC) had a big booth on the show with all sorts of Beijing-branded concept cars including two EVs.
BAIC was on a roll those days. They had just purchased the rights to the Saab 9-5 and Saab 9-3 from General Motors, including the 2.0 and 2.3 turbo engines. The Beijing C71 was a concept car based on the Saab 9-5. It got a modernized new front, a new rear, new badges, and new wheels.
The interior is Saab bar for the steering wheel. It even still has the key hole on the center tunnel, which was a typical Saab thingy. The Beijing C71 was powered by the 2.3 turbo, mated to a 5-speed automatic gearbox.
The Beijing C71 never made it into production. In the end, BAIC used the Saab 9-5 platform for their Senova D-series. The Saab engines have been used, and are still being used, to power many BAIC products.
The Beijing C71 EV concept was an electric variant of the C71. It has the same design as the C71 but it was painted in a fancy shade of blue. The battery pack was located under the car’s floor, which BAIC showed by putting the car om blocks with a mirror underneath.
The Beijing C71 EV was powered by a single electric motor with 150 hp and 300 Nm. It could do 0-100 in 13.5 seconds with a 160 km/h top speed. Range was 150 kilometers. Not bad at all for 2010.
Over the next years BAIC showed many EV concept cars based on the Saab-platforms, and they even did a produced a few small trail-series, but none ever made it to mass production.
The Beijing BE701 EV was an electric car based on the Chrysler Sebring. The Sebring was until 2009 manufactured by the Beijing-Benz DaimlerChrysler Automotive Corporation (BBDC). When Chrysler pulled out due to the financial crisis BAIC was allowed to keep the platforms for the Sebring and for the 300C.
BAIC started working on their own versions of these cars, and one of those was the Beijing BE701 EV. It was powered by a single electric motor with an output of 81 hp and 160 Nm. It did 0-100 in 12.8 seconds with a 160 km/h top speed. Range was 160 kilometers. That indeed is 3 times 160 (!).
In the end, nothing came of the BE701 EV and BAIC didn’t use the platform for any other car either.
The Beijing B61 was a concept for a new 4×4. It was a nice looking thing with some interesting design details, including a Jeep-grille and a bulbous rear end.
It was a large vehicle, with a length of 4.6 meters and a 2650 mm wheelbase. Engine was the 2.4 liter four-cylinder from the Beijing-Jeep Cherokee XJ.
The rear overhang is just enormous. BAIC was pretty serious with the B61, even testing prototypes, but cancelled the project later on, likely because it was too similar to the Beijing 007.
An electric Saab-based Beijing in 2010. It was a good idea. But BAIC was just a tad too far ahead of time.