A Brilliance Coupe sporty car, seen in Beijing in 2018. The Coupe looked beautiful in dark blue and it seemed in great shape, although the headlight visors looked slightly faded.
The Brilliance logo on the bonnet. It was a freezing cold day in mid-winter, with a low and weak sun, with barren trees and snow and ice abound.
These five-spoke wheels were factory-standard in the base trim. High trim cars got prettier multispoke wheels.
The Brilliance Coupe was also know as Brilliance GT, Brilliance M3, and Brilliance Kouper. In China it was known as the Brilliance Kubao (酷宝) in China, but they also used the ‘Coupe’ name on the car. The Coupe was designed by Pininfarina and made from 2007 until 2011.
Pininfarina did a lot of work for Brilliance in the 2000’s and the Coupe was probably his best design for the company. It is pretty from every side and doesn’t look outdated even today.
The interior was sporty with big round dials and air vents. The steering wheel is rather large as well. There is a single cup holder in the center tunnel surrounded by a faux-carbon fiber panel. The seats are partially leather and partially alcantara.
The center stack with ‘Brilliance Auto’ between the radio-CD player and the aircon unit. Quite modern for the time, especially for a car of a Chinese brand.
The front-wheel drive Brilliance Coupe was available with two four-cylinder gasoline engines: a 1.8 with 136 hp and 165 Nm, mated to a 5-speed manual, or a 1.8 turbo with 170 hp and 235 hp, mated to a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.
These engines may seem related but they are not. The 1.8 was sourced from Mitsubishi (4G93) whereas the 1.8 turbo was developed in-house (BL18T).
The blue car we have here has the 1.8 turbo under the bonnet, mated to the automatic. Top speed was 220 km/h and 0-100 took 9.3 seconds. Fuel consumption was 9.5 liters per 100 kilometers. That was rather steep. The 1.8 turbo manual did a lot better with 8.4 liter. Price of the 1.8 turbo automatic started at 169.500 yuan (2011).
I really like how the Coupe looks. But I have always been very bothered by this ugly rear-window wiper assembly. The way it is attached to the trunk is just weird, kind of in the middle of nowhere, and the connector seems way too chunky and tall. Was Pininfarina still involved when Brilliance developed this…? Guess he was not.
Twin pipes on the left side.
The first two characters are 华晨 (Huachen), or Brilliance. In China, this is the name of the group company, but elsewhere in the world it is used as the brand name. The second two characters are 中华 (Zhonghua), which is an alternative name for China (the country). Zhonghua is the brand name in China. This is as confusing as it sounds, and in advertising in and outside China, even the company mixed things up now and then.
The stylish ‘Coupe’ lettering on top, and 1.8T in another font below. In the middle an old-school keyhole. Dust and dirt are normal in the Beijing winter. Leave your car out for just a day and its covered all over.
The Brilliance Coupe in China. A brilliant car with lots of beauty. Too bad the company never developed a successor.