Origins of China's First Limo... [PIC]

    By the early 1960s Mao's China still didn't have a home built luxury state limousine. Chairman Mao bought two Mercedes 600 Pullmans for him and Defense Minister Lin Bao. Lin Bao hatched a plot to ambush and blow up Mao's train but the plot was thwarted and Lin Bao and family tried to fly to sanctuary in the Soviet Union but their plane was shot down over Mongolia. The FAW (First Auto Works), later Shanghai Auto Works, grabbed Lin's Mercedes and preceded to reverse engineer it. The result came in 1966 with the CA770 Hongqi or "Red Flag" limousine which was produced in some quantity until 1981. It was powered by various V8s with the original being a derivative of probably a Mercedes, but later models included drive trains like a Ford 312 Y block and automatic transmissions ironically with a Chrysler starter motor. All the V8s found in these cars produced about 220 HP All these components were purchased through shell companies based in British Hong Kong which was China's secret outlets to international trade and money laundering. The armored vehicle weighed up to 6500 lbs with no power steering. It was outfitted with AC but the only outlets were in the partitioned driver's compartment. The car was beautifully appointed with Chinese red wood trim and rear privacy curtains like the Mercedes. The overall design takes styling cues from various luxury cars of the era but is known for its signature grill and 'eyelash' head lamp bezels. Those features along with the lantern style tail lamps were repeated in later7000 series limos. The 3 red flags on the front fenders signify "general task", "general commute" and "Great Leap Forward". 

    This 1/24 diecast model is still being built as limited editions. This is the first iteration made by the now defunct Kader Industries released in the late 1990s. Other variants including an open parade car are also available in various scales. The chauffeur in the Mao jacket is actually Dr. No.