An excellent piece of information about the Roewe 550’s design story, and the way it was taken from nothing to being one of Chinas best made vehicles in the matter of a year:
The SAIC Design Team was briefed to create a brand new 4 door sedan to sit alongside the Roewe 750 in the Chinese market but also write a new chapter in the Roewe Brand’s development worldwide.
Being an all new design, this was a chance to produce a modern world class medium sized sedan, retaining the British-influenced dignity and elegance of the 750, whilst forging a new distinctive Chinese dynamic image and character for the first in a range of many new products from the SAIC’s Roewe premium brand.
A close knit International design team, based in UK and Shanghai, was led in the UK by SAIC Design Director Anthony Williams, and SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre General Manager, David Lindley.
You can read more about it on the Car Body Design site. Its an interesting article, and well worth the read.
Without doubt the finest piece of design work I have yet seen from a Chinese manufacturer. Clean details, nicely proportioned with a purposeful stance. Stick Rover badges on it and I am sure it would sell well in the UK, and maybe the rest of Europe too.