The newly formed Chinese automaker Hunkt Motors (Hunkt Motors) announced the start of sales of its first model - a full-size crossover Queshi. This car is interesting because the exterior practically reproduces the prestigious British SUV Range Rover, of course, without a license, that is, it is a pirated copy.
Queshi was originally developed by Zotye Auto, which is known for its plagiarism (remember, for example, its stylistic copies of the Porsche Macan and Volkswagen Touareg). Zotye is now in a difficult financial situation - and the crossover project mysteriously ended up with Hunkt Motors, which brought it to mass production. However, it is possible that this company is affiliated with the owners of Zotye.
The proportions, profile and roof line of the Hunkt Queshi repeat the current generation Range Rover Sport L494, the characteristic stamping along the entire sidewall, the vents on the front fenders (here they are fake) and some other details also refer to the English car. At the same time, the front and rear parts of the new “Chinese” have their own style, although the radiator grille resembles the Japanese Toyota Land Cruiser 200 in its shape.
The length, width, height of Hunkt Queshi are 4985, 1995 and 1819 mm, the wheelbase is 2997 mm. Relative to the original Range Rover Sport, the “Chinese” is 133 mm longer, 78 mm narrower and 8 mm lower, while Hunkt’s wheelbase is 73 mm longer.
There are no obvious references to the Range Rover in the crossover cabin. The car package includes, among other things, a keyless entry system, push-button ignition, a panoramic sunroof, climate control, a digital instrument cluster (10.25-inch screen) and a media system (12.3-inch screen).
The car is driven by a 2.0-liter TN4A20TDZ gasoline turbo engine manufactured by Hubei Daye Hanlong Engine, its power is 218 hp, torque is 370 Nm. It is mated to an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission. The exhaust of the car complies with Euro-6 environmental requirements. Mono and all-wheel drive versions are available. The price of the fake "Range" in China starts at 159,800 yuan. For reference: the original RR Sport costs in China from 864,800 yuan, that is, five times more expensive than a copy (the finished RR is imported from the UK, which is why it is so expensive).
Recall that the most famous case of Range Rover copying is the X7 crossover produced in 2015-2019 by Landwind. Its appearance was almost identical to the Evoque model. Jaguar Land Rover has been suing Landwind since 2015 for copyright infringement. The Chinese court first made an absurd decision - it canceled the rights to design in the country from both companies. Then on March 22, 2019, he nevertheless took the side of JLR, ruling that Landwind copies five unique design elements of the Range Rover Evoque. By the decision of Themis, the production of the car was stopped, Landwind must pay compensation to JLR (the amount is unknown).
Note that in the range of the above-mentioned Zotye Auto company there is also a car similar to the Range Rover Evoque - the T700 crossover. It is also expected to move to the Hunkt Motors range soon.
Pirate copy of Range Rover Sport launched in China
