The Ten Greatest Chinese Knockoff Cars Ever Made

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Why waste all kinds of time and money designing something original, when you could just rip off something else?


10.) Huanghai Plutus

What It's Ripping Off: Chevrolet Colorado

There are some subtle differences between the Plutus and the Colorado, but you'd have to be a serious Colorado enthusiast (they exist!) to be able to spot them. It gets even more uncanny when you slap a bow tie badge on the front.

Suggested By: As Du Volant, Photo Credit: Dandong Huangai Automobiles Sales Co., LTD. via Alibaba

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9.) Longer Yuelang X1

What It's Ripping Off: Range Rover Evoque

This Evoque looking low speed electric vehicle just made its debut at the Shandong EV Expo, and it is just so damn cute! Could you imagine taking this baby Range Rover to the baby off road trail, or the baby mall? So good.

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The best part is the BMW roundels featured prominently on the wheels.

Suggested By: Rory, Photo Credit: Carnewschina.com via Truck Yeah!


8.) BAIC B80VJ

What It's Ripping Off: Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, Jeep Grille

Fake it till you make it? That's what BAIC did. They make this wonderful Jeep-grilled knock off of the G-Wagen, but they also are in a joint venture with Mercedes to produce a C-Classes, GLAs and other cars in China.

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I wish I could explain why.

Suggested By: 4rdFan, Photo Credit: BAIC


7.) DFSK Loadhopper Window Van

What It's Ripping Off: BMW 3-Series

I love the optimism of slapping a BMW fascia onto what is otherwise a very lowly work van. Why can't something cheap and utilitarian project a premium image?

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Suggested By: sebdel-PostingFromQuito, Photo Credit: DFSK


6.) Chery QQ

What It's Ripping Off: Daewoo Matiz/Chevrolet Spark

How blatant a ripoff is the QQ of the Matiz? So blatant that the doors of the two cars are completely interchangeable. GM wasn't very happy with that.

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I mean, if you're going to rip off someone else's design, you might as well go all in.

Suggested By: carcrasher88, Photo Credit: Chery


5.) Lifan 320

What It's Ripping Off: Mini Cooper

New Minis have become so damn expensive, but lucky for you Lifan has the solution with their 320. You can have one for the equivalent of under $6k USD, and it's nearly identical to a Mini.

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Suggested By: Stig-a-saw-us-wrecks, Photo Credit: Lifan


4.) Bamin

What It's Ripping Off: Mercedes-Benz W123

Of Mercedes-Benzs to rip off, there really isn't many better than the venerable W123 chassis E-Class. Bamin Automobile, a carmaker owned by the Chinese Army, made a bunch of baja'd W123s in the 1980s and they're pretty damn fantastic.

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The one pictured above is actually a pickup! So Cool!

Suggested By: Jonee, Photo Credit: Chinacarnews.com


3.) Shuanguan SCEO

What It's Ripping Off: Honda CRV, BMW X5

The SCEO is one of the more prolific cases of ripping off, as it attracted quite a bit of attention when BMW decided to sue. From the front it looks like an embiggened CR-V, but the rest is all X5.

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Suggested By: As Du Volant, Photo Credit: Shuanguan


2.) Dongfeng Crazy Soldier

What It's Ripping Off: Hummer H1

Dongfeng copied the Hummer, but they came up with a hell of a great name for it too. If I'm buying something this insane, I want it to have an appropriately crazy name.

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Suggested By: Doctor-G-and-the-wagen, Photo Credit: via Jalopnik


1.) Geely GE

What It's Ripping Off: Rolls-Royce Phantom

As commenter 472CID said, if you're going to copy something, you might as well copy the best thing out there.

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Suggested By: 472CID, Photo Credit: Geely

Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!

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Top Photo Credit: Getty Images


Contact the author of this post at: chris@jalopnik.com.