China's civil vehicle industry has just started for thirty years, and before foreign small workshop-style modification brands enter our automobile cultural circles, these old antiques have been difficult to protect in the wave of electrification and intelligence.
In the past, the figures of the Sai Lins could still be seen at large domestic auto shows, but now they have basically disappeared. The transformation of small workshops is obviously extremely difficult, and the best destination should be acquired by a large group.
01
Saleen
In 1983, Steve Saleen, a retired Formula Atlantic racer, founded Saleen Autosport Tuning Company in a garage in Delaware, USA, specializing in American performance cars.
In the 90s, Saleen Autosport produced some decent modifications, and it was not until 2000, when the earth-shattering Saleen S7 was born, that Saleen truly became a manufacturer with vehicle production capacity.
Saleen officially entered China at the end of 2015, and it already had the Chinese name of "Sailin", and the products entering China include the modification of Chevrolet Camaro and the modification of Mustang, as well as the 12 million sky-high price of self-developed supercar Racing S7.
In 2017, Sailin established a partnership with Rugao City to establish Jiangsu Sailin Automobile Technology Co., Ltd., and the chairman and CEO are named Wang Xiaolin.
Just when all Chinese car fans and fake car fans were excited, Sai Lin opened a new car conference in Beijing Bird's Nest that claimed to cost 200 million yuan.
The release includes an electric SUV concept car that looks a bit like BYD Tang, and what they call an "urban electric sports car" called Sai Lin Mai Mai, which starts at 158,800 yuan.
We know that many new forces have impure intentions, people come to build cars, they come to engage in stocks. In contrast, Sailin is even more disgusting, directly treating all investors and consumers as fools.
As for the brand of Sailin, it is considered to be ruined by this farce, at least in the Chinese market, there will be no day to turn over.
02
Mitsuoka
Mitsuoka is a small Japanese workshop that is very old, but they claim to be the tenth car company registered in Japan, registered in 1963, after Honda.
As a strange flower, Mitsuoka is very keen to exert subjective initiative, tying together some unrelated elements, one moment retro, the other time very sci-fi.
You're right to say that Hikarioka is the king of JDM, but it often makes a little bad taste.
After China in 2010, Mitsuoka began to sell some strange things, such as the Galue modified with the previous generation of Ford Mustang Convertible Edition, which started at 1.15 million...
Queen Mitsuoka (Himiko) should have been heard, 850,000 Mazda MX-5 NC, after the wheelbase was stretched from 2.3 meters to 3.0 meters, became the following picture.
The most disturbing is the Mitsuoka Orochi, a so-called "supercar" with only a 3.3L V6 gasoline engine, asking for the most entry-level Ferrari, and the chassis comes from the first generation of Honda NSX.
The Ryugi Wagon is a station wagon, which is actually a Toyota Fielder, so it is a Toyota THS dual-engine power system...
Mitsuoka's latest product is an SUV based on the Mitsuoka Buddy, built on the fifth-generation Toyota RAV4 (XA50). Since it is the new Toyota base, the Buddy must be a TNGA car, equipped with a large screen and auxiliary driving functions, and equipped with THS hybrid system.
Looking at this copycat Chevrolet K5 Blazer (1969-1972) new TNGA antique JDM luxury car, equivalent to a starting price of about 350,000 yuan, I can't help but fall into contemplation.
03
Alpina
On March 10 this year, BMW officially acquired the royal modification factory Alpina.
Alpina is also headquartered in Bavaria and is not the same company as Alpine, which was acquired by Renault in France. Alpina, a small German workshop registered in 1965, has become increasingly close to BMW, and Alpina's processes have been integrated into BMW's own production line, equivalent to the Cup modification corner of Porsche's Zuffenhausen plant.
Founder Burkard Bovensiepen made his fortune from the production of typewriters, and later he made a lot of money in the stock market, developed a hobby, built a small workshop to change BMW in 1961, initially changed only carburetors, cylinder blocks and other parts, began to change the whole car in 1964, and began to dabble in racing in 1968.
Between 1968 and 1977, Alpina's modified cars excelled in Touring Car Races, Rally races, and endurance races in Europe. The image below is the Alpina 3.0 CSL (1974) piloted by Helmut Koinigg.
By 1970, Alpina had 70 employees, making it one of the big factories.
Since 1983, Alpina has been recognized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, and the BMW that it has changed can not be registered as a BMW brand, but directly registered as an Alpina brand. Alpina's after-sales service can be obtained at BMW dealers, and the sales channels are naturally here.
After entering the new century, Alpina's main products are D3 Bi-Turbo, B3 Bi-Turbo, XD3 D3 Bi-Turbo, etc., 3 can be replaced by 4/5/6/7 and other numbers, representing different levels of products of the BMW family.
Pictured below is the new B7. Alpina's modification has always been very low-key and introverted, mainly cultivating internal skills and giving way
It can be stronger, so it is not popular in the Chinese market, and it is certainly not sold.
Unlike AC Schnitzer, which sells modifications, Alpina is a complete vehicle, so integrating into the BMW system can increase operational efficiency.
Given that BMW has announced full electrification, it has become a member of the BMW Group at this time, and perhaps Alpina will evolve into an electric vehicle modification brand in the future.
04
AC Schnitzer
Now that we're talking about AC Schnitzer, let's mention it.
AC Schnitzer Modification Company was founded in 1987 in Aachen, an industrial town in western Germany, and its parent company was founded as early as 1967. AC Schnitzer is now the royal modification plant (advanced modification) of BMW/BMW M, which is equivalent to the relationship between Brabus and Mercedes-Benz/AMG.
AC Schnitzer is far less well-known in China than Brabus, and some media have even mistakenly written AC Schnitzer as "AC BMW". In fact, the "AC BMW" brand does not exist, AC Schnitzer is not only changed to BMW, it also changed MINI, changed Toyota, changed Land Rover...
Ac Schnitzer can be translated as "Aachen Schnatze", but AC Schnitzer does not recognize the translation.
AC Schnitzer previously had stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Changsha and other cities, but now it has not heard of it.
AC Schnitzer is not a tiered rival to Alpina, who can compete in european tournaments on its own, while the former is more like a kit seller and is not cheap at all.
05
Mansory Maisari
Mansory in the industry called "selling charcoal", professionally modified carbon fiber lightweight kit, black paint is definitely the most expensive.
Mansory is not a century-old store, the founder Kourosh Mansory was founded in Brande, Germany in 1989, specializing in luxury cars, serving customers including Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Bugatti, Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Lotus, etc., but the staff is about 200 people, still a small factory.
Here's the appreciation session.
The 2016 Mansory 4XX Siracusa, based on the Ferrari 488 GTB.
The 2020 Mansory RS6 Avant.
The 2020 Mansory Le MANSORY, based on Ford's new generation GT40.
The 2021 Mansory Stallone GTS, based on the Ferrari 812 Superfast.
06
PGO
PGO is a small French brand, and it is not fast to eat in Europe, let alone in the Chinese market. The brand participated in the Exhibition in China in 2013 and 2017, both at the Shanghai Auto Show, but the market response was relatively cold.
The name PGO is derived from three automotive die-hard players, Patrick, Gilles and Olivier Prév?t, founded in 1985 to make retro cars.
Its cars are all of similar sizes, and I'll pick out the "latest" 2014 PGO Cévennes Coastline for everyone to see.
What is not intentional is that the PGO official website actually has Chinese options!
However, these one-ton personalized cars have no marketing in China, the power is weak, the configuration is fragmented, and it is better to buy a BBA.
Because it has not updated the product for many years, this small factory is rounded up and counted as gone, and there is nothing wrong with it in the era of electrification and intelligence.
07
Morgan
To describe Morgan cars in one sentence, it is "the afterglow of Great Britain".
As the main front of the old capitalism, Great Britain's industrial achievements have always been the world's premier model, and its achievements in the automobile industry and motorsport are not comparable to those of Europe, the United States, and Japan – of course, this is what the empire has not set before it has fallen.
Morgan Motors previously had a dealership in Qingdao, and now it has not been seen.
Morgan's cars are still quite distinctive, such as their famous Morgan 3 Wheeler.
Morgan still insists on hand-built tricycles, but in China, the combination of "hand-built" + "tricycle" means "poor". Because the body is really very, very light, this tricycle with only 111PS power was able to break the hundred in 6.0 seconds, and then this is not useful, and you have to let the co-driver help hold the umbrella when driving in the rain, which is the most nested Millionaire car I have ever seen.
The picture below is not an old car, it is a new model in 2020.
In addition, they have the 2022 model, which is getting uglier and uglier, and the V2 twin-cylinder engine is no longer exposed, and the wood has a soul.
But you say they only produce nostalgic garbage, and the picture below is the 2014 Morgan LMP2 car.
But you say they can keep up with the trend, in fact, the main business is still nostalgic. This is the 2019 Morgan Plus Six "First Edition".
This is Morgan Plus Four in 2020.
This is the Morgan Plus 8 GTR of 2021.
This is the Morgan Plus 4 LM62 of 2022.
Morgan is the big head of this small workshop, at least a year to produce only a few "new cars" to inform the world that "we are not out of business."
When the V8 models were sold in China, the price was to go to the European GT, and it was actually difficult for this modification manufacturer to have a mass base.
08
Wiesmann
Like Morgan, Wizmann is also a family business that plays with handicrafts, and the biggest difference is that this vintage sports car brand from Germany was actually established in 1988, with no history, no technology, no technology... There really is.
The Wizman brand was only sold in China in 2012, after two directly operated stores in Beijing and Shanghai in China, with products ranging from 2 million to 4 million, and a real car running on the road has never been seen.
There aren't many models in Wiezmann, and I've only seen live ones on the german infinity-speed highway.
The following one is the MF3, which was discontinued in 2011.
The MF4 is in good shape, with options for BMW's 4.4T V8 (N63B44) twin-turbo or 5.0L V10
(S85B50A), responsible for the power output of low-MF4 and high-MF4-S, respectively. At that time, the two power models were priced at 2.95 million and 2.98 million in China, and the two more cylinders only needed 30,000 more, is it very affordable?
The MF5's 4.4T V8 is a bit more powerful (555PS), so the asking price is 3.85 million.
The convertible MF5 is about to sell for 4.1 million.
At such a competitive price, after entering the Chinese market, "strive to sell 2 units a year, and the second unit is the second-hand unit of the first unit".
Well, Weizmann has withdrawn from the Chinese market, and it is not known whether the German factory is still there.
09
Lawrence / Lorinser
The founder, mechanical engineer Elvin Lawrence (also known as "Lorenz" in China), founded an auto repair plant in Weiblingen, Germany, in 1930.
In the mid-1970s, Lawrence began to provide exterior modification kits for large factories, and in 1981 it was officially registered as an independent sports modification brand, and now has a sales network in more than 40 countries around the world, which is particularly liked by local tycoons in the Middle East.
The Lawrence brand has provided modification services for Audi, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, smart and other brands, while the Entry China series is all Mercedes-Benz models.
Lawrence has been preparing to enter the Chinese market since 2011, and Lawrence China (Suzhou Lawrence Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) was officially established in 2015, introducing the MS500 commercial vehicle and the Lawrence GS500 (below).
At the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, Marcus Lorinser witnessed the debut of the Lorinser Maybach S650 Double Spell Limited Edition.
At the 2020 Chengdu Motor Show, Lawrence released the Skyline | Sky curtain series. At the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, the Lawrence Loinser VS600MX Gulfstream Tiandi was launched.
Now the domestic auto show basically has the figure of Lawrence, has been fully integrated into the Chinese market.
10
Is there any hope for small modification plants in the era of electrification/intelligence?
The production of small modification factories has always been more steel straight, and the mainstream direction is to enhance acceleration and braking, reduce the weight under the spring, personalize the whole vehicle/light weight, and so on.
Hybrid and electric vehicles can still be modified, but the power part is not easy to change. If Alpina gives you a set of high-performance battery sets × Alpina in the Ningde era, are you willing to spend money to buy them?
The modification of intelligence is also a big problem, because the electronic circuit architecture involved, even if the modification factory is down, it is nothing more than changing the intelligent car system, and it is extremely difficult to enhance the function of intelligent driving. Besides, how many traditional luxury car buyers will complain that their cars are not smart enough?
In the final analysis, the audience of the workshop-style modification factory itself is very small, the business scope is also very narrow, the gradual decline is an inevitable event, and those who can continue to operate such as The Mansory selling charcoal, there is irreplaceability in the subdivision field, and only do edition one of one products all year round, even in the tram era, there is room for survival.
The best fate is definitely Alpina, and belonging to a large group is the correct development model for small workshops.