Hongqi CA72

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Hongqi
Hongqi CA72 (1959)
Hongqi CA72 (1959)
CA72
Production period: 1958-1965
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Pullman limousine , convertible
Engines: Gasoline engines :
5.6 liters
(155 kW)
Length: 5730-5740 mm
Width: 2000-2010 mm
Height: 1670 mm
Wheelbase : 3400 mm
Empty weight : 2000-2800 kg
successor Hongqi CA770

The Hongqi CA72 is the first representation sedan to be designed and built in the People's Republic of China . The CA72, which was produced from 1958 to 1965, was available exclusively to state institutions and the leadership of the CCP and was regularly used at public events until the 1970s. Numerous details on technology and production have not been clarified.

History of origin

The Hongqi CA72 was developed by the Changchun- based China FAW Group (FAW), which was founded in 1953 with technical and financial support from the Soviet Union . At first, FAW mainly produced commercial vehicles, especially heavy trucks based on the Soviet model. In 1958, the Great Leap Forward campaign began in China , one of the goals of which was to catch up with China's lagging behind the western industrialized countries. The effects of this initiative were also felt in the automotive sector: from 1958 onwards, several Chinese plants began to design passenger cars for civil use. One of the first cars was the Dongfeng CA71 mid-range sedan developed by FAW , which was basically a replica of the French Simca Vedette . At this time, FAW also began to develop representative vehicles for top politicians. The initiative for this is said to have come from party chairman Mao Zedong himself, who in 1955 expressed the wish to drive a nationally-made car to CCP congresses instead of Soviet limousines.

In August 1958, the first prototype of a representative limousine was completed. FAW gave car model name Hongqi ( abbreviation :红旗; for older transcriptions also Hongki or Hongshi, in the English language officially "Red Flag"), referring to the revolution symbol of the Red Flag was referring.

The dimensions and technical basic structures of the first prototype already corresponded to the later series model. In the body area, however, there were considerable differences. On the prototype, a wide chrome strip ran along the sides of the car. There was a large air inlet above the rear wheels, the edge of which was also chrome-plated. The fan-shaped grille was very narrow at the bottom and opened wide upwards. These elements were omitted in the series version. In the automotive literature, the prototype is described as unattractive and gross. In the following six months, six more prototypes were created, including two four-door convertibles, all of which differed in details from each other and from the later production version.

In 1959, FAW finally started series production of the sedan, now known as the Hongqi CA72, which lasted until 1965 or 1967, depending on the source. Until 1962, the CA72 competed with the Beijing CB4 sedan produced by Beijing Automobile Works , which looked more modern, but ultimately failed to establish itself. Unlike the CB4, the details of the Hongqi CA72 have been improved over the years. Among other things, this affected the brakes, which were too weak in the first vehicles. As of 1965, the Hongqi was referred to as the CA770 . Externally and technically, the CA770 was largely identical to the CA72.

Technology and structure

Traditional Chinese Lantern Style Taillights: Hongqi CA72
Hongqi CA72
Only built twice: Hongqi CA72 Cabriolet
Stylistic role model: an American DeSoto from the Chrysler Group from 1956

Own construction or plagiarism?

There is consensus in the automotive literature that the Hongqi CA72 is not a Chinese in-house design. The most widespread is the opinion that the design was based closely on the technical and stylistic aspects of vehicles from the American manufacturer Chrysler . Regular connections are made with the 1955 Chrysler sedans. There are reports that FAW engineers disassembled a 1955 Jilin University Chrysler while developing the Hongqi , and copied most of the components. According to another source, the construction of the Hongqi CA72 is of Soviet origin; here - without further explanation - reference is made to the ZIL-111 , which in turn was influenced by the American Packard Patrician .

technology

The Hongqi CA72 had a steel ladder frame with additional cross bracing. At the front, the wheels were individually suspended on wishbones and coil springs , while a rigid axle with leaf springs was used at the rear .

The prototypes and "some of the very first production models" had a V8 engine with a displacement of 5.3 liters. Shortly after the start of series production, the engine's displacement was increased to 5.6 liters. From 1960 onwards, all series copies of the CA72 were equipped with this version. Depending on the source, the 5.6-liter engine developed around 210 PS (155 kW), 220  SAE PS (162 kW) or 223 PS (164 kW) at 4400 revolutions per minute each. For the series version of the CA series, a cylinder bore and a piston stroke of 100.0 × 90.0 millimeters are named in the comparatively few sources , resulting in a displacement of 5655 cubic centimeters. The water-cooled engine has two overhead valves per cylinder, which are controlled by a single central camshaft ( OHV valve control ). Further details are a classic cylinder bank angle of 90 degrees and the crankshaft bearing in five main bearings. The mixture preparation of the 8.5: 1 engine is done by means of a carburetor .

There are reports that the design of the engine was based on a model from Chrysler. However, none of the contemporary V8 engines in the Chrysler group had a displacement of 5.65 liters. The Hongqi engine is also designed according to the metric system of measurement, not the Anglo-American one. Rather, the cylinder bore corresponds to that of the V8 engines of the Soviet representative sedan ZIL-111 presented in 1958 and that of the GAZ-13 Chaika derived from it ; These, in turn, had been developed from 1956 together with the engine of the medium-weight truck ZIL-130 and differ essentially only in that they have a different crankshaft and modified carburetor equipment.

The power transmission of the Hongqi took place via a two or three- speed automatic transmission , depending on the source . The former would one with the early versions of the ZIL, the latter with its later versions and the Chaika GAZ-13.

The curb weight was given as 2000 kg. The total weight of the car was 2800 kg. With a wheelbase of 340 cm and a track of 155 cm, the vehicles were 574 cm long, 200 cm wide and 167 cm high. Another source gives a slightly different 573 cm length and 201 cm width.

construction

In terms of style, FAW was largely based on the Hundred Million Dollar Look created by Virgil Exner , which shaped all models of the Chrysler Group in 1955 and 1956. The basic shape of the prototype was retained for the series version. While the first prototype only had two side windows, the series models had a third side window between the rear door and the D-pillar . Some of the design details of the CA72 incorporated traditional Chinese motifs. The chrome-plated radiator grille had the shape of an open fan, although the details of the series models differed considerably from the earlier prototypes. Due to the numerous chrome-plated vertical bars in the radiator grille, a design similarity to earlier models from the US American brand Nash is sometimes seen. Occasionally, the Hongqi is also bluntly referred to as the " Packard Clone". The vertically arranged rear lights, which were located behind a glass cover, stylized the shape of traditional Chinese lanterns.

FAW manufactured the CA72 with different structures:

  • The most commonly produced version was a closed, long-wheelbase four-door sedan. The doors of the passenger compartment were hinged at the back .
  • A four-door full convertible was derived from this, which was mainly used at parades. It had a level floor in the passenger compartment and was equipped with a handle so that the passengers could stand in the open car while driving.

Hongqi has been using the design of the CA72 since 2009 for its current L-series representative limousines with a retro design , namely for the variants L9 (since 2009, extra long), L7 since (2012, medium-long) and L5 (since 2013, Standard length).

Production and distribution

The Hongqi CA72 was handcrafted at FAW. Series production comprised 198 sedans, two convertibles and three elongated sedans with three rows of seats. There were also seven prototypes, including two convertibles.

There was no sale on the open market. The vehicles remained almost exclusively in China. Only a few copies were delivered to the governments of communist neighboring states, some for example to North Korea . There they were copied in turn and replaced by very similar vehicles with their own brand names.

Outside the People's Republic of China, the information on the Hongqi CA72 became more concrete from 1960. That year it was exhibited at the Leipzig Spring Fair, which was also accessible to Western journalists. A high-quality limousine was emblazoned with the following message in German and Chinese: "Following the great leap forward in 1958, the Chinese people achieved another great leap forward in 1959." The year before, the visuals were in the same place as Technically similar Soviet representative limousines ZIL-111 and the somewhat smaller Chaika GAZ-13 were presented as innovations. From 1960, reports on Hongqi appeared regularly in the automobile catalogs of the Swiss magazine Automobil Revue . The Chinese state also showed a very luxuriously equipped sedan version in Paris in 1965 . In both exhibitions, the vehicles were used solely for the performance exhibition, without exporting them to communist or western states for free sale.

According to early reports, the state limousine is said to have been built in the “Beijing Automobile Works” - according to its main location; only later was it assigned to the automobile factory in Manchuria .

Only a few copies made it to Europe and into private hands. A CA72 was in Romania in 2013.

literature

  • Roger Gloor: All Cars of the 1950s, 1945–1960. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart. 1st edition 2007. ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1 , page 377 (“Chinese Passenger Cars”).
  • Roger Gloor: All cars from the 1960s. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart. 1st edition 2006. ISBN 978-3-613-02649-0 , page 304 (“Red Flag, Hongki”).
  • Maurice A. Kelly: Russian Motor Vehicles: Soviet Limousines 1930-2003. Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2011, ISBN 9781845843007 .

Web links

Commons : Hongqi CA72  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Maurice A. Kelly: Russian Motor Vehicles: Soviet Limousines 1930-2003 , Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2011, ISBN 9781845843007 , p. 75.
  2. ^ Contribution to the Hongqi CA72 on the website of the Embassy of the PR China in Germany from September 19, 2013 (accessed on June 6, 2016).
  3. ↑ a b Weijing Zhu: The Red Banner of China's Auto Industry Rises Again. www.theworldofchinese.com, July 21, 2013, accessed June 6, 2016 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Roger Gloor: All Cars of the 50s, 1945-1960 . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart. 1st edition 2007. ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1 , p. 377.
  5. ↑ Illustration of the prototype from 1958 ( Memento of the original from June 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on June 6, 2016).  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / en.wheelsage.org
  6. ^ A b Maurice A. Kelly: Russian Motor Vehicles: Soviet Limousines 1930-2003 , Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2011, ISBN 9781845843007 , p. 76.
  7. ↑ a b c Maurice A. Kelly: Russian Motor Vehicles: Soviet Limousines 1930-2003 , Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2011, ISBN 9781845843007 , p. 85.
  8. ^ FAW Announces Plan to Revive Hongqi Limousines. www.chinaautoweb.com, August 10, 2010, accessed June 6, 2016 .
  9. ^ A b Maurice A. Kelly: Russian Motor Vehicles: Soviet Limousines 1930-2003 , Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2011, ISBN 9781845843007 , p. 115.
  10. ↑ Information for the identical successor Hongqi CA770 from: Auto catalog no. 20 (1976/77), p. 188 f.
  11. ↑ a b c d e Tycho de Feijter: Sanhe Classic Car Museum: Hongqi CA72 State Limousine. www.carnewschina.com, August 24, 2012, accessed June 6, 2016 .
  12. ↑ a b c Achim Gaier (Ed.): Passenger cars in the GDR . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart. 1st edition 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02725-1 , pp. 187–194 (W. Roediger: Vom »Russobalt« zu Automobil-millions , in: Motor-Jahr (1971)) and pp. 199–208 (Wilfried Copenhagen: AMO, SIS and SIL , in: Motor-Jahr (1977)).
  13. ^ A b Roger Gloor: All cars of the 60s . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart. 1st edition 2006. ISBN 978-3-613-02649-0 , p. 304.
  14. ↑ a b Werner Oswald (editor): Die Auto-Modelle 1960/61. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1960, pp. 46–47.
  15. ↑ a b Werner Oswald (editor): Die Auto-Modelle 1961/62. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1961, pp. 46–47.
  16. ↑ a b Werner Oswald (editor): Die Auto-Modelle 1962/63. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1962, pp. 46–47.
  17. ↑ Gerard Wilson: The Hundred Million Dollar Look: Chrysler for 1955-56. www.allpar.com, April 1, 2012, accessed June 6, 2016 .
  18. ^ NN, in: Car and Driver (magazine), Volume 52, 2007, p. 37 (English).
  19. ↑ a b c Tycho de Feijter: China Car History: the Hongqi CA72 Parade Car. www.carnewschina.com, December 27, 2013, accessed June 6, 2016 .
  20. ^ Ronan Glon: Live from the Shanghai Motor Show: The Hongqi L5, China's only retro-styled sedan. ranwhenparked.net, April 29, 2015, accessed June 7, 2016 .
  21. ↑ Ralph Alex, Jens Katemann (editors-in-chief): Auto, Motor und Sport, Auto-Katalog, model year 2016 . Motor Presse Stuttgart GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, 2015, p. 160.