Ssangyong Chairman W Interior Photos Emerge, Surprise

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:00:00 EST

Ssangyong is making a serious attempt to capture the Asian luxury market with its Ssangyong Chairman W, a V8-powered, RWD sedan with all the trimmings. We just came across a batch of new exterior and interior shots and, while the exterior doesn't surprise, the interior features seem quite advanced for the market. First of all, you've got the MyGigesque rear screen that pops out of the front center console, which appears to be able to control both front and rear entertainment systems. Taking this even further, whereas MyGig only functions with a remote for passengers, the rear console features an integrated command knob. Take that Hyundai Genesis.(UPDATE: The previous Chairman was based on the W124 E-Class platform and an interior picture from the E-Class made it into the interior gallery, causing some confusion. The pic has been removed. Thanks to all of those that pointed it out).

In addition to the new interior pictures, we have some sort of crash test that shows the new Chairman gets a "5 Star," which we assume means the same thing in all languages but probably not in all ratings. This also appears to be the first set of white Chairman photos, a fact that is kind of surprising when you realize white has always been a popular color choice for American chairmen. No final details on price, though it looks like this super luxury ride will be somewhere in the $100K range when it officially debuts. (h/t M0l0TOV) [Bobaedream]

Ssangyong Chairman Revived, Revealed And Soon To Be Reviled... By Hyundai At Least

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:15:00 EST

The crew over at Ssangyong, everyone's favorite Chinese-owned Korean automaker, has revived their luxury Chairman nameplate for the new Chairman W. As you'll remember, the original chairman was based on the W124 E-Class Mercedes platform but styled to look like an S-Class. Based off of the WZ concept shown at Frankfurt, this new model will reportedly be offered with a choice of a 3.6-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 (which should come with a seven-speed automatic from MB). A V8-powered Korean luxury sedan? Haven't we seen that before?

For a Korean/Chinese hybrid, the car manages to not look exactly like some other cars. There's a touch of M45, a smidgen of Genesis, a dash of LS and a helping of previous generation Benzie around the headlights. These won't be coming to the US anytime soon, though Russia and the Middle East are all possible export targets. (thanks to M0l0TOV for the tip) [TheCarFanatic, The Car Blogger]

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Ssangyong Chairman W Interior Photos Emerge, Surprise

Ssangyong Chairman Revived, Revealed And Soon To Be Reviled... By Hyundai At Least