Meet China's Most Expensive Car

This big beauty is the Hongqi L5, the most expensive Chinese car. It costs five million yuan or $760,000. Hongqi, Red Flag, is oldest automaker in China. They are famous for their enormous state limousines and parade cars. The L5 pays respect to this heritage. Design is retro-modern and inspired by the majestic Hongqi CA770 state limousine.

The CA770 was manufactured from 1966 to 1981 and only 847 examples were built. All were sold to the Chinese government but today many are in museums and in private hands. The CA770 was powered by a Chrysler-sourced 215 hp 5.6 liter V8 engine.

But the engine powers the L5 is a 6.0 litre V12 with an output of 408 horsepower and 405 ft-lb of torque. The gearbox is a six-speed automatic sending power to all four wheels. Hongqi does not specify top speed and acceleration, likely because it isn’t very fast. Fuel consumption is a mystery as well but bet it drinks a lot. Happily, the fuel tank has a capacity of 105 litre. 

The interior is a work of art rose wood panels and cream white leather. The centrally mounted instrument panel is fully digital and measures 15.3 inches. The lower 8-inch touch screen controls the infotainment and various other functions inducing the air conditioning and satellite navigation. The inner rim of the steering wheel is for the horn which you have to pull the rim towards you, instead of pushing it away. 

The logo in the middle of the steering wheel is a golden sunflower. In Chinese symbolism the sunflower stands for long life and good luck. Hongqi has been using the symbol for a very long time. There are also small sunflower logos in the center of the wheels.