The Dongfeng CA71 was developed by FAW in Changchun (Manchuria). FAW was founded in 1953 with technical and financial support from the Soviet Union. It primarily produced commercial vehicles, especially heavy trucks based on the Soviet model. In 1958 China launched the Great Leap Forward Campaign, which was aimed at catching up with the Western industrialized countries.[2]
From 1958, several Chinese plants, including FAW began to design passenger cars for civilian use.[3]
The Dongfeng CA71 was used for a number of propaganda campaigns and some included Mao Zedong. About 20-30 Dongfeng CA71s were produced, although some of the production run are rumored to be simply rebadged Vedettes rather than fully FAW-built cars.[4] Because the CA71 was small, the Hongqi CA72 was the preferred state limousines. Middle officials tended to use the smaller Fenghuang (Shanghai SH760).[5]
Design
The Dongfeng CA71 was modeled on two foreign vehicles. The chassis was reverse engineered from the Mercedes-Benz W120 as was its 1.9 litre four-cylinder in-line engine. The body was based on the French Simca Vedette, although its actual shape is closer to the similar sized Ford Zephyr Mk2 of the same era. This was possibly due to Ford's relationship with Simca at the time.[6]
Chinese detailing included a golden dragon motif on the bonnet grill, and elements of a Chinese lantern design on the taillights, like the Hongqi CA72. The engine is stated to have produced 70 hp (52 kW) while the top speed was 130 km/h (81 mph).
FAW's Deputy Design Director, Shi Qihe, and Chief Engineer, Hu Tongxun directed the project.
Production
The first prototype of the Dongfeng CA71 was completed on 12 May 1958. Various test drives followed in the summer. Several more copies were built in 1958. The car was hand made with the sheet metal being hand-braided. Only two examples are known to still exist: one is kept at the Hongqi Factory Museum in Changchun and one is located in the Luo Wenyou Classic Car Museum in Beijing, although possibly a Simca based replica instead of an original: a third replica was completed in 2023 by FAW.[4]
^"中国第一辆国产轿车——东风CA71" (in Chinese). FAW Group. 7 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
^ abBeijing Automobile Museum (Hrsg.): Red Flag. 60 years of Chinese Automobile History. Broschüre zur Ausstellung in der Cité de l’Automobile, Schlumpf Collection, Mulhouse (6. November 2014 bis 30. März 2015)
^George Nick Georgano, The International Encyclopedia of the Automobile, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN1-57958-293-1
