Brilliance recently brought Pininfarina’s Dimitri Vicedomini on board to lead its design team. Brilliance had long used the Italian styling house to design its better looking designs such as the Brilliance Coupe and BS4 sedan, bringing Dimitri on board skips the expensive step of having to pay PF top dollar, and he can work closely with local designers to bring them up to speed. Perhaps Dimitri has been working extra hard since his reassignment on May 22nd this year, this forthcoming Brilliance concept seems to be be more Italian than Chinese and is somewhat reminiscent of the Chrysler Delta in its external style.
Chinese media are saying this is at the concept stage, but in reality this could well be a 2013/14 model and the shape of things to come for Brilliance. If Brilliance does plan on pushing out cars like this, then perhaps their long rumored return to Europe will be closer than one initially expects.
looks a bit of Alfa in there.
It’s often said of Chinese automakers that they don’t have a “design language” which runs through their range.
Well Brilliance is certainly developing an increasingly identifiable language.
And it looks great
Its ok looking, well, I like the MianBao che looks as well.
This car has Alfa Romeo Giulietta`s headlights,Brera`s tail lights and a body shape that reminds me of Seat Leon or Giulietta or even the new Lancias.CHINA STOP COPYING AND MAKE A DESIGN THAT EMBRACES THE CHINESE COULTURE NOT THE JAPANESE OR THE VARIOUS WEST COULTURES!!
Car design is not “cultural” in such a way. Does a BMW look German or like a BMW? Does a Nissan look Japanese or like a Nissan? Does a Hyundai look South Korean?
It is about almost as stupid a comment as saying that Chinese makers of mobile phones or televisions should make their products look “Chinese”.
Dude……wake up and smell the coffee. READ THE ARTICLE AGAIN………this is not a COPY or a CLONE or anything like that. This was created by one of the top designers of Pininfarina – which is a ITALIAN company since you didn’t pay attention to the contents of the article. You know, Nissan, Honda and most japanese companies now have design houses in America – to design products that more accurately reflect american tastes and preferences. I suppose you want to accuse them of copying american ideas as well? Get a life – the auto industry is inter-connected throughout the world now…..italians are designing chinese cars, americans are designing japanese cars……it’s simply a part of doing business nowadays in the world.
Personally, I like it a lot – it still has the “design language” (credit to Anon for this term) that represents the ideas of Brilliance, but with a fresh and new approach. This could easily be a future replacement for the FRV – it’s about the right size and shape. If they (Brilliance) DO bring this to production, you can rest assured it will be on my “I want it” list!
+1 to your comments. When I travel overseas, I am seeing automotive design influenced more by brand identity, than any cultural aspects. The most successful companies look to create a common design language that consumers will recognize as belonging to their brand, not their national identity. Since most companies manufacture their products in numerous locations, this is a very practical business decision.
Overall, I think it’s a great design.
Its about time Brilliance found its own design language. The poor mans BMW look is really not working for them all that well.
I want one! I hope these come to the UK.
I never thought I’d comment on CCT, but what are you guys smoking???
This is a sad travesty of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, since the photos are distorted I can’t make out the proportions, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the similarity is more than skin-deep, much like the BYD cars who are simply reverse-engineered Toyotas or Hondas.
What is worse is that the “chinification” of the Giulietta is really horrendous in this case, the Giulietta has its own aesthetic issues, but here nothing seems to fit and it seems like a vague 1980s dream of “tomorrow’s car” done by Virgil Exner (the guy who in his latter years gave us Stutz revivals) on a drunken night.
I believe this to be a huge step back for Brilliance, their previous models might have evolved from an overt BMW E60 inspiration, but they were balanced, distinctive and coherent. I would argue that Brilliance was the only Chinese make with a palatable and consistent brand “look” – perhaps a conservative one, but then “Brilliance” doesn’t exactly sound equivalent to trendy, jazzy or edgy.
@Bravada –
First of all, congrats on your first comment here, and welcome to CCT! It’s obvious that you have a significant amount of auto knowledge, and I look forward to reading more comments from you. CCT is at it’s best when we have members engaging in thoughtful, honest conversaion – we don’t have to agree on everything (hell if we all agreed on everything it’s wouldn’t be very fun) but we CAN respect each other. With that said, I want to ask you the same question you asked us – what are YOU smoking?
The BIG difference between Brilliance and BYD is that Brilliance INVITED the italian designer to lead the design team at Brilliance – BYD just simply said “oh, let’s just copy the Aygo/Corolla/Accord/Previa”……and they DIDN’T invite any Honda or Toyota designers to come in and lead their design team. While there are obvious similarities with this car to existing italian products (and yes you are right, it does conjure memories of the Giuletta), I do NOT see any copying going on here. There are also obvious similarities to the Camry/Accord, the Nissan Cube/Kia Soul, etc…….but they are NOT copies of each other or clones. IMO it’s the same thing here – definite similarities but NOT a copy. Brilliance is part of a foreign co-op with a marquee brand (BMW), and they can’t risk damaging their reputation OR BMW’s with clones or copies. Now BYD (and Chery)……they don’t co-op with any foreign brand, so I suppose they think they can be a bit more “brash” with their ideas.
Anyway, I respectfully disagree with your assessment, but I DO respect your knowledge and experience regarding autos (and chinese autos as well) – don’t be a stranger here! Your comments can enrich the forum, and there is nothing wrong with healthy, respectful debate!
Are you nuts?????!!! This Brilliance Me Concept looks ugly, especially around the front where it seems a tad messy with the chrome grille. Stick with cars designs like the Brilliance FSV (facelift), H530, and H230, which are all good looking cars.