File:Besturn B70.jpg

English: Place: Liping, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province

Chinese name: 一汽奔腾B70 (yīqì bēnténg B70) Year of launch: 2006

First Auto Works (FAW) is one of the four largest state-owned automotive companies in China. It was founded in 1953 and launched its first car, the Hongqi (Red Flag), in 1958. One of its subsidiaries, FAW Tianjin, started producing cars in 1965. From November 1984 it started producing Daihatsu cars in license, starting with the Hijet, but followed by the Charade in 1986. This car, the Xiali (夏利) would become one of the most successful cars in China in the nineties and can be considered an icon for the Chinese automotive industry.

The Besturn sub brand was launched in 2006 under the legendary Hongqi marque. It is a sedan based on the Mazda6 / Atenza (first generation) platform and with Mazda engines, but a new body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. It was joined by the Besturn B50, a cheaper sedan with the same platform, in 2008. The largest sedan, the B90, was launched in 2011 and is using a second generation Mazda6 / Atenza platform.

Currently the line-up consists of the B50, B70, B90, and the SUVs X40 and X80. This is the first Besturn model: the first generation B70. It's still the best-looking Besturn model in my eyes, with its baroque but clean styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro (Italdesign).