A simple definition of a sports car is “a small low car with a high-powered engine, and generally seats two people”. This is more or less a “textbook” definition but gives us an idea of what the public perceives to be a sports car.

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Chinese Supercars Set To Take The World By Storm

NOV 10, 2018 BY JAY TRAUGOTT CAR CULTURE / 12 COMMENTS

Or, maybe not…

China. The country whose auto industry has built a reputation for shamelessly stealing the designs of other automakers safe in the knowledge that the Chinese government provides protection. Lovely world, ain’t it? But there are some Chinese supercar companies that are, to their credit, attempting to be creative with designs of their own (mostly). Yes, the supercar concepts we’ve seen over the past few years definitely have some design elements from more established firms, but things are progressing in the right direction for brands like TechRules, Windbooster (direct translations can sound kind of funky), and BAIC. None of these Chinese-built and designed supercars have made their way to American shores, let alone to Europe, but it’s really only a matter of time until at least one or two of them leave their homeland.

Question is, will the world accept them? Remember, the Japanese built a supercar back in 1990 and it changed everything. That car was the Acura NSX. It forced Ferrari and Lamborghini to improve many things, among them ditching interiors with the quality level of cardboard. We’ve gone through our database of Chinese-made supercars and have picked out the ones with the greatest chance of success, be it in China or elsewhere.Save

BAIC Arcfox-7

Believe it or not, BAIC was founded way back in 1958 and today is one of China’s largest automakers. Some call it the General Motors of China. Because of its size and wealth, it was really only a matter of time until it attempted a supercar.

The Arcfox-7 had its global premiere at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show and has since been confirmed for production. It was co-developed with Spain’s Campos Racing team. Powered by three electric motors with a combined total of 603 hp, the Arcfox-7 weighs 3,870 pounds, sprints to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds and has a top speed of 155 mph. It also has a range of 186 miles per charge, which is far below what a Tesla can do. Its scissor doors definitely come straight out of Italy and its overall shape is, uh, a bit German. We can’t help but see some BMW i8 in there. One of its cool and unique features is a fingerprint scanner to start the engine.