Something new from almost every angle SAIC Z7 seems pretty heavily inspired by it Porsche Taycan. Not only is there the sedan copycat, but there’s also the Z7T, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Taycan station wagon.
The Z7 not only has the silhouette and body surface of the Taycan, but also many details, including the tiny opening on the trailing edge of the front fender, the diffuser cutout in the rear bumper and the small vertical air intakes on the edge of the front bumper.
The headlight and taillight designs are similar but not identical. In fact, the Z7’s taillight graphics have an interesting glitter effect.
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Where the design of the Z7 and Taycan probably diverge the most is in the interior. While the Porsche has screens neatly integrated into the dashboard and center console, the Z7 has a huge freestanding touchscreen that can move in “four dimensions,” meaning it can tilt electronically left, right, up and down.
Available features include a head-up display, panoramic glass roof, matrix LED headlights, illuminated badges, cross-drilled brakes with Brembo calipers and advanced driver assistance with a roof-mounted LIDAR pod.
Some of the models pictured here ride on 20-inch alloy wheels with 275/40 Continental EcoContact 7S tires.
Technical specifications for the Z7 and Z7T have yet to be revealed, but the company is expected to release more details in late March.
Accordingly My driversThe Z7 and Z7T will feature all-electric powertrains, with the rear-wheel drive variant using an 80 kWh battery and the all-wheel drive versions having a larger 100 kWh pack.
It will reportedly compete against the Xiaomi SU7 and will cost between ¥220,000 and ¥310,000 (A$45,500 to A$64,100) in China.
That’s significantly less than the fully imported and therefore heavily duty-paid Taycan, which has a sticker price of between 918,000 and 1.57 million yen (A$190,000 to A$324,400) in the Middle Kingdom.
Confusingly, the new SAIC brand is one of five brands being launched by HIMA, a joint venture between Huawei, the electronics company, and SAIC, the Shanghai-based automaker.
If you are not familiar with SAIC, some of its brands – MG, IM, LDV and Maxus – may be familiar. The automaker also has joint ventures with GM and Volkswagen.
While the SAIC Z7 and Z7T are clearly inspired by the Porsche Taycan range, the other models released by HIMA to date do not borrow as much from existing designs from elsewhere.
It’s been a while since a Chinese manufacturer released a vehicle that closely resembles one from a foreign automaker. Notable past examples include the 2015 Landwind X7 (Range Rover Evoque), the 2009 BYD F3 (Toyota Corolla), and the 2003 Chery QQ (Daewoo Matiz).
MORE: Explore the Porsche Taycan showroom
