THE FANGCHENGBAO BAO 5 IS A PLUG-IN HYBRID SUV THAT LOOKS STRANGELY FAMILIAR
This is the Fangchengbao Bao 5, and you could be seeing it on a road – or perhaps a relatively tame green lane – near you in the near future. Yep, Fangchengbao is the latest Chinese car brand to consider a launch in Europe.
If it does take the leap, it’ll have a bit of a head start because much like the Yangwang, Fangchengbao is another one of BYD’s luxury offshoot brands. A BYD spokesperson told TG that a European launch was still being discussed, but we were also given technical data for the Chinese market car and told to “stay tuned for detailed specifications after the model is officially launched in Europe".
All fairly exciting, especially as we quite like the look of the Bao 5. It made its European debut at Top Marques in Monaco this week having gone on sale in China late last year. It’s roughly the same size as a Land Rover Defender 110 and there are clearly bits of Land Rover design that have influenced Fangchengbao. Ford too. And yet, it all comes together rather nicely.
There are 18in wheels, chunky arches, roof rails, a full-size spare on the back, extending side steps that drop down as you open the door and many, many screens inside. Oh, and there’s a 677bhp plug-in hybrid powertrain that pairs a 1.5-litre four-pot turbo petrol engine with two electric motors and a large 31.8kWh battery.
The result (when everything is fully juiced) is all-wheel drive, 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 112mph. It’ll manage 78 miles of electric-only range and 746 miles in total. The battery will accept 100kW fast charging and we’re told that – like Yangwang’s U8 – it’ll do tank turns to spin itself around on loose surfaces.
Of course, there’s no word on how much the Bao 5 would cost if it did make it to Europe, but let us be the first to implore BYD to give it a go…