Damn I forgot to transfer the Relentless photos to my new computer but that’s ok. That’s for another time.
2026 Honghu Beifeng Series
The Beifeng name might be familiar to those who frequently entered CSR almost 5(!!!) years ago. I’ve generally positioned this car in the same market as a 5 Series or E-Class, but it seems to flipflop between that and smaller segments depending on the challenge context. That being said, while I work through refreshing the entire Honghu lineup for 2026, I thought I’d give the Beifeng name some priority given that it’s gotten me top 3 in multiple challenges, with a few wins to boot.
With a 2.95 metre wheelbase, 4.97 metre length and a 1.92 metre width, it’s about on par with the size of the 5 Series. Most of the length is allocated towards hood space, not to jam anything large inside, but just to give it a bit more of a longitudinal demeanor. Whatever that means…
I say “not to jam anything large inside” because, similar to the Hongqi H9, it comes with a 2.0 litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine for most models, making around 270 horsepower and spinning the 20-inch wheels to 100 km/h in just under 7 seconds.
Models have choices between single and two-tone colourways. Ok enough of that.
You might have also noticed the jade-ish coloured one. Many other old heads had probably seen me throw the “Heilong” trim level around in a couple different challenges. Think of it as something like SRT, M, AMG, etc.
A fun fallacy I noticed when giving it a 3.0-litre twincharged inline-6 is that I could have just matched Hongqi in real life with a 4.0-litre engine - V8 or not - and still be taxed the same amount.
Edit: Nuh uh I’d be taxed half of that. Reading isn’t my strong suit.
These are 2008 rates from an old UWaterloo paper that are apparently still in effect today, which brings some interesting insight as to why Hongqi capped their V8 at 4 litres.
This big inline-6 engine, among other things, has increased the weight of this Honghu from the standards 4,300 lbs to almost 4,750 lbs. An 8 speed auto shoves its weight to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds.
The above photo was supposed to be a template for an ad but that’s ok. Incoherent ramblings about Chinese Automation vehicle lore vs real life Chinese vehicle lore is way more fun. Maybe I’ll make an EV of this one if so inclined as well.