Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.What Is a Hongqi?Unless you're following the Chinese auto industry or deep into the rabbit hole of its history, Hongqi (pronounced hong-chi) is a brand that isn't really heard of outside of China. It's long been the country's premier luxury automaker and also its oldest automaker. Think of it as China's Cadillac or Lincoln, and its classic models certainly reflected that.Hongqi used to be reserved for China's elite, whether in government or in any positions of power. It's a little different now, as it's more accessible to the masses, but it's sticking to its luxury roots. But before it reached its current state, Hongqi underwent a rather interesting phase of building licensed cars from abroad.HongqiThe People's Republic Town CarOne of the cars that Hongqi built was a licensed version of the Lincoln Town Car. Dubbed the CA7460, the Chinese automaker started building these in 1998, and did so until 2005. Ford supplied Hongqi with semi-knockdown kits of the car, and final assembly was done in China.AdvertisementAdvertisementIt's not a straight-up rebadge of the much-loved livery car, as Hongqi added some of its own touches. The most obvious difference is the different set of headlights and grille, making it look rather generic. Some sections of the front end are also noticeably different from the Town Car, and a 'red flag' ornament adorns the hood.At the rear, there are quite a number of changes made as well. The taillights are a different shape from the Town Car, and bits of extra trim were added to the trunklid. As for the interior, it's largely the same as the car it's based upon, save for a Hongqi badge on the steering wheel. Also unchanged is what's under the hood, as it uses the 4.6-liter V8 found in Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and yes, the Town Car too.This One's For SalePanther Magazine recently came across a CA7460 for sale, not in China but in the U.S. It's currently in Los Angeles and is being offered for $10,000. It's a 2001 model, although the car itself has a pretty interesting history. The car was previously covered by The Autopian back in 2023, and spoke to the owner about it.Yang, who was at Art Center College of Design and a Hongqi intern at the time the article was published, got himself a Lincoln Town Car. He then stripped down a CA7460 in China and fitted the parts that made it unique to the donor Lincoln. Yang doesn't parade his car as a true CA7460, but rather, as a replica and a tribute to the Chinese-American collaboration.AdvertisementAdvertisementLow-mileage Town Cars go for a surprising amount of money these days, and this one has about 70,000 miles on the clock at the time of posting. By Town Car standards, that's barely broken in. For $10,000, you can drive around in something that will surely leave the Cars and Coffee and Radwood crowd scratching their heads.HongqiAdvertisementAdvertisementView the 7 images of this gallery on the original articleThis story was originally published by Autoblog on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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