Standing next to a red flag, the most impressive thing is this solemn sense of oppression – standing next to CA72 is so, standing next to CA770 is even more so. If CA770 is the first peak in the history of domestic automobile design, then what elements of The Big Hongqi have been inherited by today's Faw-hongqi mass-produced flagship model E-HS9?
In terms of design, the Red Flag CA770 has been given a leadership temperament since its birth, and the degree of domineering and luxury is self-evident. It represents a peak of Chinese car design in the 60s, and the most luxurious Chinese-made car at that time... And almost 60 years later, the latest large-scale SUV E-HS9 of the Hongqi brand is also the highest-end domestic brand model you can buy in 2022, of course, it also has the identity of a new energy vehicle.
Let's take a look at the inheritance and changes of the E-HS9 and CA770 through our lens -
After the former Rolls-Royce design director Giles Taylor joined, even if the design style of the red flag has become avant-garde and radical, you can still feel this "solemn oppression of the big red flag" in the E-HS9.
Since the advent of the Hongqi CA72 in the late 1950s, the entire grille design of the Big Hongqi has drawn on the elements of chinese folding fans, and the 37 chrome-plated designs have also been inherited to the CA770, which was born in the 60s, continuing the solemn sense of the big red flag. On today's E-HS9, in addition to creating a tall and thick front face shape with a straight front line, the straight waterfall grille also has metal chrome decoration, and the active opening and closing intake grille replaces the traditional air intake grille, which is smarter and more efficient. It can be said that E-HS9 uses a modern design language to interpret the classic elements of the big red flag.
The Hongqi logo that stands on the cover has always been the iconic design of the big red flag, and the combination of red glass and metal materials is also the embodiment of luxury materials and classic creativity in the field of automobile design and manufacturing at that time. Nowadays, the material alone can not fully show the weight of the new generation of Chinese brand flagship models, E-HS9 on the front of the red flag logo, although it is no longer the kind of erected "red flag", but the logo feature line through the front of the car extends to the entire front half, still like a finishing touch, indicating the unique identity of the brand flagship model, neither exaggerated nor ostentatious, but presenting a sense of design atmosphere and elegance.
In 1960, the Hongqi sedan was included in the World Automobile Yearbook, and another classic design detail was that the "five red flags" were replaced by three red flags after "flying" on the front fenders for two years. In my opinion, the "three red flags" appeared on CA770, implying the "red flag spirit" of the predecessors at that time who worked hard and made unremitting efforts to improve themselves. 60 years later, E-HS9 has not forgotten the "feats" of that year, and the eye-catching red trim at the front wing version is not only a inheritance of the elements of the big red flag, but also a reflection of the original intention.
If the CA770 exquisitely designed taillights highlight the aesthetic style of the luxury cars in the 60s, then the "palace lights" derived from the red lanterns of the Forbidden City are the continuation of the design of the palace lights of the CA71 Dongfeng car, and have become the iconic elements of the "big red flag"... As the first pure electric large-scale SUV in China, the taillight design of E-HS9 does not erase the traditional elements of "four flat and eight stable", and at the same time presents the modern aesthetic design language through the dot matrix LED light source, which not only interprets the inheritance of E-HS9 to the "palace lamp", but also has no lack of stability in fashion.
In 1956, Hongqi Magazine was founded, and in the rear of CA770, the handwriting of the "Hongqi" nominated by the Founding Fathers was used as the LOGO, and has always been used as the tail mark of the Hongqi brand, which is no exception in the E-HS9, depicting the historical background of the Hongqi brand for 60 years.
For the interior of the Hongqi CA770, my personal favorite design is the flat and direct center console, simple but atmospheric, dignified and elegant color, full of luxury but no exaggeration of American cars. As a market-oriented pure electric large SUV, E-HS9 does not need the ultimate solemnity of Dahongqi, and the triple screen design through the center console has a sense of scientific and technological futurism of new energy vehicles, while continuing the simple and atmospheric design concept of Dahongqi, it highlights the aura that luxury large SUVs should have, and makes a perfect interpretation of "Chinese-style new noble refinement".
Driver's Summary:
If the Hongqi CA770 represents the highest level of Chinese cars in that year and reached the peak of the automotive design aesthetics of the 60s, then today's Hongqi E-HS9 gives us a new understanding of luxury pure electric large SUVs, highlighting Hongqi's attitude towards manufacturing luxury flagship SUVs. Dare to innovate, dare to take the road that others have not traveled, "China's most representative luxury brand", Hongqi deserves it.
Written/Photographed | John 117
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