Engineering:Beijing BJ750
| Beijing BJ750 | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Beijing Automobile Works |
| Production | 1974-1982 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Luxury car |
| Body style | 2-door sedan |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Transmission | 5 speed automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,598 mm (102.3 in) |
| Length | 4,809 mm (189.3 in) |
| Width | 1,798 mm (70.8 in) |
| Height | 1,695 mm (66.7 in) |
| |uk|Kerb|Curb}} weight | 2,988–2,998 kg (6,587–6,609 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Dongfanghong BJ760 |
| Successor | Mercedes-Benz W211 (locally built joint venture) |
The Beijing BJ750 was a luxury vehicle by Beijing Automobile Works from 1974 to 1982 as a replacement for the Dongfanghong BJ760, which stopped production in 1969. The first prototype of the BJ750 was built in 1968, based on the styling of Japanese executive cars of the time - namely the Toyota Crown, Mitsubishi Debonair and Nissan Cedric.
Due to Mao-era regulations on vehicular building - only Shanghai Automotive was allowed to produce midsized sedans even though the Shanghai SH760 was becoming rapidly dated, Beijing was only legally allowed to sell BJ212 Jeeps, and only 134 vehicles - mostly prototypes - were built until production eventually ended.[1] The vehicle almost caused the bankruptcy of the company, but the company was kept profitable due to the production of the Beijing BJ212 series of military jeeps, which were very popular in both civilian and military markets.
Due to conflicting reports and poor record keeping, it is unclear when production ended nor the exact number of cars built: while many sources show production at around 120-135 units around 1973-1981, some sources also show production during a much shorter span in the mid 1970s, however there is also evidence of BJ750s built and equipped with a AMC 2.5 I4 from the Jeep Cherokee, which would not be possible until the Beijing Jeep joint venture opened in 1984. As joint ventures started and the old domestic products were replaced by locally-built foreign models in the 1990s (the Shanghai SH760 was replaced by the Volkswagen Santana and Hongqi models became rebadged Audi 100 and Lincoln Town Car variants), BAW - even with joint ventures - mostly exited the premium sedan market and focused on other segments such as off roaders, commerical trucks and economy cars, did not return to the segment until BAW started local production of the Mercedes Benz E-Class in 2005 after the Beijing Jeep joint venture became Beijing Benz due to the Daimlerchrysler merger in 1997 and did not return with a premium brand of its own until Arcfox, a premium EV only brand, was formed in 2017 - nearly 40 years after the last BJ740 was built.
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