This is a Beijing Auto D280 sedan, as seen in Beijing in 2014. It was painted in a classy shade of black with darkened windows and gray alloy wheels. The license plates are from Shandong Province.
Beijing Auto is a division of BAIC. Senova was a brand name under Beijing Auto. The Senova (绅宝, Shenbao) brand was created in 2009. In that year, BAIC purchased the intellectual property rights and production equipment for the Saab 9-3 and Saab 9–5 from General Motors (GM), the then-owner of the storied and troubled Swedish brand. BAIC also bought the rights to the Saab 2.0 turbo and 2.3 turbo petrol engines.
The D280 was the first Senova sedan based on the Saab 9-5. The platform, wheelbase, and hard points remained as they were. But Senova did redesign the front and rear, the rear door, and the C-pillar. At first glance, it didn’t really look that much like a Saab. But it was.
The Senova D280 debuted in 2012. Senova fitted cool ‘Turbo’ badges on the C-pillar, with a big red T. The Saab 2.0 turbo powered the D280. Output was 204 hp and 240 Nm. The motor was mated to a five-speed AMT, sending horses to the front wheels. The top speed was 220 km/h and 0-100 took 9.8 seconds. That made it one of the fastest Chinese-branded sedans on the market. And you could get even more power. Senova also sold the D320, which had the 2.3 turbo under the hood. The D320 had 250 hp and 350 Nm, a top speed of 240, and did 0-100 in only 8.2 seconds.
The interior was completely redesigned, with a new dashboard and new seats. The centerpiece was the center of the center tunnel, with a half-circle of buttons below the gear lever. These buttons controlled the heated and ventilated seats, the parking sensors, the night panel of the dashboard, the sunroof, and the ESP. In the center of the half-circle was the start-stop button. It had sporty round dials, an infotainment system, and a radio CD player. This particular car has seat covers to protect the original beige leather seats. You can see the beige color on the armrest.
The Senova D280 was a spacious car with lots of space in the back.
In the 2010s, large lights were the trend, and Senova followed with these enormous red rear lights. The lights are connected with a chrome strip, topped by a BAIC logo. Down in the bumper are two square-shaped exhaust pipe tips.
Characters: 北京汽车, Beijing Auto.
In 2013, the price of the D280 model ranged from 139.800 yuan to 181.800 yuan, and that was a good deal at the time. Less good was the naming. The D280 and D320 names didn’t make sense to consumers, and before the first year was even over Senova changed the name to D70. Senova also added their own 1.8 turbo to the lineup. The D70 remained in production until 2018. Senova also sold the D60 and the CC, which were based on the Saab 9-3 sedan.
Characters: 绅宝, Shēnbǎo, Senova. The D has a bit of red too.
The Beijing Auto Senova D280 was a classy Chinese sedan with Swedish roots. It was a popular car and it sold in decent numbers. But the D280 name was used for less than a year, and that makes this black sedan quite a rarity.