SPY PHOTOS: All New Roewe 450

From Britain to Shanghai and back

Here’s proof that China Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) of Shanghai is dead serious about their plans of re-introducing Rover in Europe – although then renamed Roewe after Ford was smart enough to buy the Rover name and logo before the Chinese had the chance to do so.

While at present they are building a revised version of the former Rover 75 and 25 and selling them as a Roewe 750 and 250 in China only, SAIC has had no interest in taking over the rights to the former Rover 45, too, as the car was very old already. Our exclusive spy-shots show that SAIC is instead developing their own compact saloon, and from what’s visible so far, the car will get quite a European influenced design that might well attract buyers in the West. Nothing can be said about performance yet, but the best bet would be a choice of petrol engines somewhere between 80 and 120 bhp. We could well imagine the car will be officially launched at either Shanghai Motor Show in 2008 or yet at the Frankfurt Show this September. And we bet the car will be named the Roewe 450.