Pininfarina is one of Italy's most respected and sought after design houses. China is up and coming in the automotive world but its leading car makers lack the design experience that established marques have. Easiest solution is to employ an independent design house do the styling, which resulted in the 2006 Best New Car award at the Beijing Motor Show for their Junjie saloon. This year the Junjie range is expanded with the Brilliance Junjie station wagon, also designed by Pinifarina.
Even though Pininfarina is most famous for their Ferrari and Maserati designs (most recently the Ferrari 599 GTB and Maserati GranTurismo S) but almost a third of their design accounts hail from China.
The Brilliance Junjie station wagon builds on the saloon, sharing its front end design. The estate's rear end is dominated by a wind-tunnel tested spoiler built into the roof. Overall the car displays some strong lines which should enable Brilliance to expand in the premium luxury segment.
The interior also builds on the saloon's example with classic, fluid lines but with greater functionality. The rear seats fold down completely creating a huge boot if necessary.
Bristol411S3
April 21, 2008 3:00 PM
