A Hongqi HQ300 sedan, seen in the great city of Changchun in 2016. The good Hongqi was painted in black, like 99.9% of these cars always were. It was in a fine shape with the original alloy wheels and the ultra cool Hongqi ornament on the hood.
The Hongqi HQ3oo was a variant of the Hongqi HQ3 series, manufactured from 2006 until 2010. The HQ3 was based on the fourth-generation (S180) Toyota Crown Majesta.
The Hongqi HQ3 series was manufactured in the Hongqi factory in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province. So this example was right at home.
There were two variants: the HQ300 powered by a 3.0 V6 with 231hp and 300nm, and the HQ430 powered by a 4.3 liter V8 with 280hp and 430nm. Both engines were mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox, sending horses to the rear wheels. The engines and ‘boxes were also sourced from Toyota. Size: 4965/1795/1485, and wheelbase was 2850.
The triple bar ornament on the C-pillar was characteristic for the Hongqi HQ3 series. Even though the HQ3 was really a Toyota, I always thought it one of the best looking Hongqi cars. FAW only made a few subtle changes but somehow it looked far more exclusive than the Toyota it was based on.
Price of the 2007 HQ300 started at 399.800 yuan, which was actually a pretty good deal for a luxury car. At the time, the fourth generation Crown Majesta was made in China by the FAW-Toyota joint venture.
FAW, short for First Auto Works, is also the owner of the Hongqi brand. FAW’s reliance on Toyota continued with the Hongqi H7 which is based on the fifth-generation (S200) Toyota Crown Majesta.
Over the years I have been to Changchun a couple of times, and every time I was amazed by the many classic Hongqi sedans just standing around on the streets. More Hongqi from Changchun in upcoming posts!
Nice car. But FAW-Toyota only produced the original saloon version of the S180 Crown, which means that the HQ300/430 were the only S180 Majesta in China. Then when FAW-TOYOTA started to provide Chinese version of the S200 Crown, they chose the Majesta version.
By the way, there weren’t any S180 Majesta with the 3.0(3GR) engine equipped. Our original S180 Majesta, also called UZS186, as its name, it only used 4.3 engine(3UZ, V8). So the 3.0 version was a special version for China.