Italian designers styling Chinese cars

Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings (BAIC) is one of the latest to pick up Italian stylists and its C90 concept - due for production next year - has the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class in its sights.

Shown at last week's Beijing motor show, the C90's exterior was shaped inhouse by BAIC but the luxurious cabin is the work of Turin-based Fioravanti, run by former Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fioravanti and his sons Lucca and Matteo.

Fioravanti worked with Chinese engineering company Eastone to develop the C90 and the project involved 15 staff in Italy and 70 in Shanghai. Matteo Fioravanti says he is based in China for month-long intervals and describes the country as being rich in work.

"There's a lot more work here than in Europe,'' he says. "It's the place we have to be.''

Though the C90 was the feature car for BAIC's expansive Beijing motor show stand, there were two BAIC vehicles from other Italian design houses Bertone and one from Pininfarina. Bertone styled the C51X SUV and C70G which were shown as concepts.

However, a BAIC spokesman says both will go into production, possibly late next year, and both are possible export material. Bertone's design director Michael Robinson agrees with Matteo Fioravanti's view.

"Interest in new cars is explosive here,'' Robinson says.

"There is just so much work and the Chinese are great to deal with.''

Pininfarina was responsible for a C70 derivative, the B70, while Fioravanti also designed the C80 sedan. But while the shapes are new, BAIC uses some old drivetrain and chassis technology.

Bertone's SUV uses the underpinnings of the old Saab 9-3, while the C70's shape hides the previous generation Saab 9-5 skeleton. The C70 and B70 are also based on the Saab 9-5, while the C90L show car is a Mercedes with a 6-litre V12 engine. 

And before you start reaching for the cheque book, the C90 will actually come to the market with a Saab-derived 2.3-litre turbocharged four cylinder.

The Saab tie-up goes back to BAIC buying Saab technology as the Swede imploded and became linked to Swedish exotic carmaker Koenigsegg. 

BAIC bought the tooling and design rights to the outgoing Saab 9-5 and became a minority shareholder in the Koenigsegg Group, which in 2009 was attempting to buy Saab from General Motors.

The 9-5 technology now owned by BAIC includes the platform and Saab's slant-four turbocharged petrol engine.

But the $200 million deal also included old 9-3 technology. GM, which prevented another Chinese group from buying Saab technology, has no qualms with BAIC because the assets pre-date GM's involvement. In other words, it was outdated.

BAIC is also in production joint-venture partnership with Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) and Hyundai. The state-owned BAIC - not related to Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) or Beijing Automobile Works (BAW) - doesn't yet have an Australian distributor.