12th April, 2012
No, sir, this is not a Jaguar copy of a Porsche Cayenne. It’s a Chinese clone. This is the second-generation Hawtai B35 – and about the only visible difference between this and the earlier version is the Jaguar-inspired grille that replaces the previous component – which looked like it came off a Bentley! The rear and side styling is still as per the Porsche Cayenne.
Come to think of it, since this copycat SUV was first seen at the Guangzhou Auto Show last November, both Jaguar and Bentley have announced that they are working on SUV models – did Hawtai know something we don’t?
The original B35 was first shown at the 2010 Beijing show and, even if the rest of the world didn’t take it very seriously, Hawtai does; it quotes a choice of 1.8-litre, 118kW turbopetrol or two-litre, 110kW turbodiesel motivation, driving through either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission, with optional all-wheel drive.