Beijing Auto’s B40 SUV has been spotted out many times, it was initially expected to launch towards the end of 2011 but was effectively delayed until the the launch of the company’s own Shen Bao brand late last month at the Guangzhou Auto Show. Shen Bao will be housing an entirely new range of vehicles all of which are thought to be launching within quick succession of each other. Thanks to Beijing Auto’s take over of Saab IPR such as the 95 and old 93 platforms, engine IPR and gearbox IPR Beijing Auto are now able to install some semi decent technology in the B40. The B40 could potentially take on Saab’s 2.3T gasoline engine and also a 3.0L V6, the V6 is reportedly an imitation of an older Nissan V6 that Beijing Auto brought in themselves.
The B40 is set to come in two flavors, a three door version and a five door version. Early pre-production models used 2.0L and 2.4L gasoline engines mated to 5 speed manual gearboxes from Tangshan Gearbox company, the models pictured here are also pre-production so obviously look a little rough around the edges.
A launch date still hasn’t been announced, but 2013 is looking like the year the B40 could potentially hit the market at long last. Pricing is still a mystery, as are final powertrains but diesel and gasoline are more than likely.
Great undercarriage and engine room photos.
Does BAIC independent actually sell cars? I never see them in the monthly sales stats..
It seems they are forever preparing to launch new models. Thank goodness they have successful joint ventures to rely on otherwise they would quickly fade into the sunset.
Back to the ’80′s! Imagine the shelf life of this thing.
If you look under Beijing Auto you will see the E-Series is not doing too shabby.
From the exterior it looks okay, arguably slightly better looking than the ‘real’ Wrangler, the interior seems to be another story.
But a four cylinder petrol engine isn’t going to move that full frame vehicle very far…
I WANT ONE.