This Bugatti Chiron is a Chinese copycat car that’s cheaper than a Maruti Alto

The Chinese are known to be among the most efficient workers in the world. They are respected all over the world for their diligence. Therefore they are the biggest supply market in many industries including the automobile industry. They are also known to copy many manufacturers, hence most of the cars and bikes are copies of famous models launched around the world. Here’s a story of one such copy car of Bugatti Chiron which is only available in China. The vehicle is named P8 and is being manufactured by Shandong Qilu Fengde who is based out of China’s Shandong Province.

The copy version P8 was obviously nowhere near the quad-turbocharged W16 petrol engine of the original Bugatti. One of the reasons why the Chinese manufacturers tap into the copy market is China’s strict anti-pollution laws because of which big displacement engines receive heavy taxes. Bugatti is aware of this law and hence did not market the Chiron in China as it comes with an 8-litre engine and therefore the taxes on the potential buyer could be enormous.

The copy version has to be customized adhering to the law of the land. Therefore they were forced to go for an electric powertrain and an extremely smaller version of the car. The P8, as the name suggests can be driven even without a license because it comes under the LSEV or low-speed electric vehicle. The P8 manufacturer even copied the same dual paint design from the original Bugatti Chiron. The P8 comes in either black and red paint scheme or a black and white paint scheme. The original Bugatti Chiron churns a massive output of 1500 HP whereas the P8 can only produce a maximum of 3.35 HP. The electric motor that powers the Shandong Qilu Fengde P8 is powered by a 72V lead-acid battery.

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Top speed of 50 km/h

The P8 cannot surpass the speed limit set by the government which is 50 km/h whereas the Bugatti Chiron can hit the top speed of 420 km/h. If not restricted by the law, the P8 is claimed to touch a top speed of 65 km/h. The range of the P8 is decent with a 150 km run on a full charge. It takes about 10 hours to charge on a 220V charging system. The P8 also gets flashy interiors with a digital instrument cluster, red carpeting and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that can play MP5 video.

The P8 also comes with a big red kill switch which is placed in the centre console. This switch is also a mandate by China law. It states that every LSEV has to be equipped with an emergency kill switch. The boot of the P8 is quite spacious and can even fit a charger for the car. Unlike the Chiron, the P8 gets rear seats which is basically a coupe that can qualify as a two-seater. However, since the rear seats seem more like a bench and not comfortable for seating, it could be used as storage space as well.

Chinese manufacturers don’t shy away from introducing copy versions within the laws of China to be launched in the market. There are a few manufacturers which have been served with court cases regarding the copy. China still remains undefeated in the automobile market and is also able to influence many big manufacturers. One such popular example is BMW increasing their grille size which not well received by many people but BMW responded by saying that it was done to cater to the Chinese market which liked the big grilles.

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