China has contributed many great things to the world throughout the ages. Gunpowder, paper, printing, the umbrella and the compass are among their many contributions to society, however Chinese luxury automobile manufacturing is not on most historian’s lists. Most people, including many car enthusiasts, are unaware of the fact that China produced hand-made, luxury limousines, starting in the 1950s. This fact came to light for many automotive enthusiasts during the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, when two elegant and mysterious Chinese automobiles were on display, making this the first time in history that cars built in Mainland China graced the lawn of the most prestigious car show on the planet. Here is the story of how these largely unknown Chinese cars were created and how two determined car collectors endeavored to have the “Red Flag” cars displayed at Pebble Beach.
Establishing a New Industry
In 1949, the Peoples Republic of China was founded and party leaders and dignitaries required limousines and parade cars. The cars used most commonly in the early post-war era were Packard 180 look-a-likes called the ZIS 110, produced in the Soviet Union. These served their purpose, however China wanted to build their own cars for government use and to show the rest of the world that they had the capability to produce a car with enough style and luxury suited to transport heads of state. England had Rolls-Royce, Germany had Mercedes and the United States had Lincoln and Cadillac, now China would strive to build their own prestige car.
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