{"id":498039,"date":"2019-02-05T12:03:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T20:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=71509"},"modified":"2024-05-16T00:52:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T00:52:20","slug":"red-flag-for-chinas-elite-1965-ca-72-1974-ca-770-hongqi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/red-flag-for-chinas-elite-1965-ca-72-1974-ca-770-hongqi\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Flag for China\u2019s Elite – 1965 CA 72 & 1974 CA 770 Hongqi"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"1974<\/a>China has contributed many great things to the world throughout the ages. Gunpowder, paper, printing, the umbrella and the compass are among their many contributions to society, however Chinese luxury automobile manufacturing is not on most historian\u2019s lists. Most people, including many car enthusiasts, are unaware of the fact that China produced hand-made, luxury limousines, starting in the 1950s. This fact came to light for many automotive enthusiasts during the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d\u2019Elegance, when two elegant and mysterious Chinese automobiles were on display, making this the first time in history that cars built in Mainland China graced the lawn of the most prestigious car show on the planet. Here is the story of how these largely unknown Chinese cars were created and how two determined car collectors endeavored to have the \u201cRed Flag\u201d cars displayed at Pebble Beach.<\/p>\n

Establishing a New Industry<\/h4>\n

In 1949, the Peoples Republic of China was founded and party leaders and dignitaries required limousines and parade cars. The cars used most commonly in the early post-war era were Packard 180 look-a-likes called the ZIS 110, produced in the Soviet Union. These served their purpose, however China wanted to build their own cars for government use and to show the rest of the world that they had the capability to produce a car with enough style and luxury suited to transport heads of state. England had Rolls-Royce, Germany had Mercedes and the United States had Lincoln and Cadillac, now China would strive to build their own prestige car.<\/p>\n

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Hongqi Red Flag 1965 and 1974<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A World War ll factory was refurbished, in 1953, to create a new factory in Changchun, in the Jilin province of Manchuria, the first industrialized area in China. The new government owned enterprise was known as Diyi Qiche Zhizao Chang (First Auto Works) or FAW. An earlier translation of the Chinese name was Number One Automobile Factory. The factory was completed in 1956 and the first vehicle produced at the new plant was the Jiefang (Liberation) CA 10 4-ton truck, based on the Russian ZIS, which itself was a copy of the International Harvester K-Series truck. \u201cDuring construction of the new truck plant in Changchun, the Soviet government provided technical support, tooling, and more than 80% of the production machinery,\u201d according to the official FAW website. \u201cA large number of Soviet advisors were stationed in Changchun during the ramp-up period to help orchestrate factory construction, production preparation, and training of FAW employees. During the 3-year preparation span, talented management and support staff were recruited from all over the country. Thousands of assembly line workers were hired and trained. More than 20,000 workers from the 5th construction division, composed of mechanical and electrical tradesman, were put to the task of transforming the daily arrivals of construction material into a state-of-the-art production facility on schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n