A Hafei Lobo 1.1 16V, seen in February 2015 in central Beijing. The good Lobo was in a great shape, painted in a pretty shade of blue that almost matches with the license plates. The car seemed totally original, down to the sporty alloy wheels.
The Hafei Lobo, or Lubao in Chinese, was manufactured from 2002 until 2012, with 3 facelifts over the years. The car we have here is a post-first facelifted example, launched in 2007.
The Lobo was designed by none other than Pininfarina, who also designed the Hafei Saibao sedan and the Hefei Menghuan concept car. The Lobo was a very recognizable car, much sharper lined than the other small family cars of the time. The most recognizable design feature was the extra set of lights integrated into the A-pillars.
The seats were covered in thick seat covers, which at the time were very common in winter in Beijing. Nowadays most new cars got heated seats, but not in 2011. The rest of the interior is original, with the factory radio CD-player and the cool wood-look gear knob. The instrument panel sits in a central pod atop the middle of the dashboard.
Pininfarina’s artistry is perhaps best visible from behind, with the triangle shaped lights that dictate the shape of the third-side window and the rear window. The door handles follow the same shape as the lights, but upside down.
Characters: 哈飞路宝, Hafei Lubao, Hafei Lobo. Power came from a 1.1 liter 16-valve four-cylinder petrol engine. It had an output of 65 hp and 87 Nm. The engine was mated to a five-speed manual, sending power to the front wheels. Fuel consumption was 6.5 liter per 100 kilometers and top speed was 130 km/h.
Price of the Lobo 1.1 16V, when new in 2007, started at an incredible 38.900 yuan, which made it one of the cheapest cars on sale. Hafei also sold the Lobo with 1.0 and 1.3 liter engines, and they had a cool Lobo Cross variant as well.
When I met the Lobo is was close to the Chinese New Year celebrations. The red sticker-strips are so called ‘chunlians’, or couplets, a traditional decoration for the Spring Festival time when the Chinese New Year starts.
The chunlian expresses happiness and hope for the new year, and is generally believed to bring good luck.There are many kinds of chunlian, for in the house, for businesses, for in the office, each with its own specific hopes and wishes for the new year.
The characters on the car variants usually express the hope safe and lucky travel on the road. The imagery of an expensive vehicles, like some sort of supercar in this case, expresses the hope for good fortune.