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Geely LC Panda concept

Geely's LC Panda concept pairs hatch body with heavy duty 4WD underpinnings to wow showgoers. Picture by: Neil Dowling

There’s always at least one crazy at any motor show. Once-conservative China is leaping aboard the outrageous concept-car wagon with Geely - one of China's biggest car makers with a $24 billion turnover in 2012 - trotting out its baby Panda with a 4WD undercarriage.

Suitable for Shanghai and Beijing crowded city streets? Definitely.

The shoehorning of a big truck frame beneath the Panda - normally a breathless 63kW bubble car - is purely to draw a crowd. Pity Geely didn't apply the same graft on one of its existing 4WD utes.

The Panda - called LC in export markets including New Zealand - was on the cards for Australia but was knocked back this year because of the lack of electronic stability control. It does, however, have a five-star crash rating on the China-NCAP test program.

The car can't be called a Panda in most markets because the name is registered by Fiat. To reiterate the Panda name in China, the design features Panda paw-shaped tail lights.