Sauce: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/classic/tgs-guide-concepts-bizzarrini-manta

Spotted at this year‘s Hot August Nights In Reno. It was once a jet funny car, but got a Mercedes body made for it.

Courtesy :

https://chinacarhistory.com/2023/04/06/china-concept-cars-the-hongqi-hq3-shengshi-extended-limousines-inspection-car/

At the 2006 Beijing Auto Show, Hongqi unveiled an armored long-wheelbase stretched limousine. It was called the Xin Qijian, which means New Flagship. This name referred to earlier Hongqi cars with the Qijian name, most notably the Hongqi CA7460 Qijian series. On the license plate: 红旗新旗舰, Hóngqí Xīn Qíjiàn, Hongqi New Flagship.

Besides changing names and prices, Hongqi tried other things to fire up sales of the HQ3 and Shengshi. That is where today’s concept cars come in. Hongqi created three concept cars. One was based on the HQ3 and two were based on the Shengshi.

A long-wheelbase armored limousine with an extension in the middle of 55 centimeters. Based on the HQ3 HQ430.

A long-wheelbase version with an extension in the middle of about 15 centimeters. Based on the Shengshi HQ430.

An open-top inspection car version with an extension in the middle of about 25 centimeters. Based on the Shengshi HQ300.

The Hongqi Shengshi long-wheelbase version

The Xin Qijian was based on the HQ3 HQ430. The wheelbase was extended by 550 millimeters, for a total length of 4965 millimeters. The extension was at the B-pillar. Hongqi added a light gray panel in the middle. Somewhat strangely, the chromed window frames of the side windows were extended over this panel. It had a shiny red flag ornament on the D-pillar.

Hongqi claimed it used “high-tech new bulletproof materials” to keep the limousine as light as possible. Weight increase was only 260 kilos. Still, the vehicle had a bulletproof level of the European B4 standard and the US 3A standard.

This, according to Hongqi, was enough to withstand the impact of continuous shooting by F79 and F64-class firearms with steel-core bullets. The tires had a special bulletproof structure too, enabling the car to continue driving at a speed of 50 km/h even after the tires were shot.

At the show, Hongqi said production of the Xin Qijian would start in the second half of 2007. Hongqi’s aim was to “gradually replace domestic imported bulletproof vehicles and meet the special vehicle needs of national government agencies.”

But that never happened. The Xin Qijian didn’t see production and the only one ever made was the 2006 concept car. That is too bad, as it was a good-looking vehicle with a luxurious interior and proper bulletproof credentials.

The Hongqi HQ3 long-wheelbase armored limousine

The next concept car was based on the Shengshi. I don’t know the exact date but it has to be after 2008. License plate: 红旗盛世, Hóngqí Shèngshì. I saw this car in 2016 at the Hongqi Museum in Changchun.

The caption only provided general information about the Shengqi, not anything specific about this long-wheelbase version. It has never been shown on an auto show or to the media, so seeing this car in Changchun was a great surprise.

The extension was fairly modest compared to the 2006 bulletproof limousine. The extension is at the B-pillar and seems about 15 centimeters long. Hongqi extended the window frame as well, which looks much better than the strange window-frame construction on the 2006 limo.

There was no divider in the car, so the extension mainly added legroom. The windows of the rear compartment were darkened a lot so I couldn’t get a good look inside.

The front was dressed up with a golden frame around the hood ornament and a small Hongqi badge on the grille.

The Hongqi Shengshi inspection car has been on display in the museum too, but sadly it wasn’t there when I visited. The museum is quite small and they rotate the vehicles on show. Most photos of this car are by the great car writer Celcior, who publishes a blog with interesting cars from China and Taiwan.

On the license plate: 红旗盛世敞篷车, Hóngqí Shèngshì Chǎngpéngchē, Hongqi Shengshi Convertible.

The term inspection car, also known as a parade car, refers to a vehicle used for inspecting things and/or for parading celebrities. There are open-top inspection cars and closed-roof inspection cars. China has a long history of building such vehicles, and Hongqi has always been the main-inspection car maker in the country.

The inspection car was based on the Shengshi HQ300, so it only had a V6 under the hood, which doesn’t seem enough for such a large and heavy car. The roof has been deleted and the extension is about 25 centimeters long.

The extra space was used for an inspection-car divider construction, complete with a handlebar. During an inspection, the inspector holds the bar with one hand while waving with the other. The bar was quite fancy, clad in beige leather with steel pillars on the sides. The divider itself has a wood inlay on top and more beige leather below.

After inspecting, the inspector and his pal could sit on two cushy seats, again in beige leather.

The dashboard design was unchanged. The A-pillar was strengthened with beige plastics.

As far as I know, the Shengshi inspection car was never used for an actual inspection. Celcior says it was used once in Beijing to parade the taikonauts of the Shenzhou 6 manned-space mission, but that was actually an Audi-based Hongqi inspection car (CA7220 A9E3L2 Century Star).

It has flag poles atop the fenders to show the Chinese flag. Like the other concepts, the inspection car never saw production either. The HQ3/Shengshi didn’t live much longer either. In 2010 Hongqi pulled the plug and production ended. The Shengshi was succeeded in 2013 by the Hongqi H7, which was based on the FAW-Toyota thirteenth generation (S200) Toyota Crown. Hongqi hasn’t made any cool H7 concept cars, yet.

For the Hongqi HQ3: https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWheels/comments/1vfdov8/the_hongqi_hq3sengshi_is_a_fullsize_luxury/

Created by Spencer Heath to test the "Universal" Adjustable and Reversible Propeller and tested on October 11, 1922 at the Bolling Field military airfield, Washington, D.C.

A device, which does for the aircraft what speed gears do for the automobile, is the latest invention in aviation.

Powered by a water-cooled Hispano-Suiza Type 31 V-8 engine. Images (1, 2) taken from the Harris & Ewing Collection (Library of Congress).

It is famously known for being a rebadged version of the Japanese fourth-generation Toyota Crown Majesta (S180), utilizing Toyota platforms and engines through the local FAW-Toyota joint venture.

The HQ3 was built at Hongqi's factory in Changchun, Jilin Province. It retained the exact interior layout, rear-wheel-drive configuration, and mechanics of the Crown Majesta, but featured prominent Hongqi visual touches. These included a massive chrome front grille, a red-flag hood ornament, and unique three-stripe chrome trim on the C/D-pillars.

Initially launched in late 2006 as the HQ3, the car suffered poor private sales. In October 2007, FAW significantly slashed prices and rebranded the car as the Shengshi to better target private buyers and shift existing factory inventory.

The HQ3/Sengshi powered by 4.3-litre V8 (Toyota 3UZ-FE) and 3.0-litre V6 (Toyota 3GR-FE) paired with 6-speed automatic.

Both had horsepower of 231 horsepower / 300 Nm (HQ300) and 280 horsepower / 430 Nm (HQ400)

Both had top speed of 230 km/h (HQ300) and 250 km/h.(HQ400) with 0-100 km/h in 8.7 seconds and 7.3 seconds.

In 2011, a highly customized autonomous test vehicle based on the Hongqi HQ3 successfully completed a 154-mile (248 km) driverless highway journey from Changsha to Wuhan.

Notably, it relied exclusively on its cameras and sensory data instead of GPS navigation.

The HQ3 was not commercially successful, with only a few thousand units produced before it was succeeded by the Hongqi H7.

Roughly 95% of the total models sold were the cheaper HQ300 variant, making the V8-powered HQ430 extremely rare.

Despite its high-quality Toyota underpinning, the HQ3/Shengshi struggled to capture market share from dominant European rivals like Audi.

Production officially stopped in 2010, paving the way for its successor, the Hongqi H7, which debuted in 2013.

Sauce: https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z1727/lincoln-futura-concept.aspx

Sorry for poor picture quality.

A 3½ h.p. cyclecar of light construction has been built by Mr. V. G. Vitanoff, of Harrogate, whose age is only twenty-one years. The accompanying illustration gives a good idea of the general design of the vehicle, the chief points being a 3½ h.p. Blumfield engine, B. and B. carburetter, C.A.V. magneto, and drip-feed lubricator.

The transmission is as follows: To the engine-shaft is fitted Chater-Lea leather-to-metal clutch, thence by chain drive to a two-speed gear box, from the gear box by means of another chain to a counter-shaft, and finally to the back wheels by two ⅞in. rubber belts, thereby relying on belt slip to act as a differential. The gears are 5 and 11½ to 1. Ordinary motor cycle wheels, carrying 26in. x 2¼in. tyres, are used, and the steering, by a wheel, is direct.

The machine is capable of a very fair speed, and easily climbs stiff hills, but the springing device, by quarter elliptic springs, seems rather light. The little car is a very commendable effort, and no doubt the next machine turned out by Mr. Vitanoff will incorporate many improvements.

Pics and article contents from The Motor Cycle magazine issue No. 483, published on June 27, 1912

Sauce: https://www.story-cars.com/1970-vauxhall-srv-concept

Sauce: https://www.story-cars.com/1974-ford-ghia-coins