Ickx! Would you purchase this Jeep Wrangler knockoff?

The Chinese language automotive trade has matured quickly and largely moved away from copycat designs, however there are nonetheless exceptions.

A type of is the Ickx K2 that will probably be offered in Italy by DR Cars, an Italian agency established in 2006 that rebadges automobiles from Chery and JAC Motors.

It’s now increasing to incorporate the BJ40 from BAIC Motor’s Beijing model.

The K2, which would be the first mannequin underneath the brand new Ickx model, was first revealed final yr and is now occurring sale in Italy.

It’s powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine producing 119kW of energy at 4000rpm and 380Nm of torque at 2600rpm, mated with an eight-speed automated transmission.

Claimed mixed cycle gas economic system is 10.3L/100km.

It boasts method, departure and ramp angles of 37 levels, 31 levels and 23 levels, respectively, with 220mm of floor clearance and a fording depth of 500mm.

There’s double-wishbone entrance suspension and a stable rear axle with coil springs, with digital locking entrance and rear differentials and part-time all-wheel drive with selectable low-range gearing.

It’s smaller than the 4882mm-long Wrangler Limitless, measuring 4645mm lengthy. The K2 has a kerb weight of 2180kg.

Out there in a single variant, it’s priced at €54,500 (A$90,915), round €30,000 lower than the Jeep Wrangler which is offered in Italy solely in plug-in hybrid 4xe guise.

The K2 comes commonplace with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, leather-based upholstery, heated entrance seats, an influence driver’s seat, and 20-inch alloy wheels.

You’ll solely discover two airbags, nonetheless.

In Wrangler vogue, there’s additionally a detachable hardtop, although the carbon-fibre, diamond-patterned entrance grille steers away from the Jeep’s basic seven-slot design… and the Beijing BJ40’s fairly apparent copy of it.

DR Cars usually employs a significantly completely different grille design on its rebadges, which frequently offers them the looks of Grand Theft Auto automobiles.

Whereas this isn’t an official licence-built Wrangler, there’s a tenuous connection to the long-lasting Jeep off-roader.

BAIC Motor and American Motors Company established a joint-venture in 1984 known as Beijing Jeep, the primary such partnership between a Chinese language and a Western automaker.

AMC on the time was the proprietor of Jeep, and Beijing Jeep (later Beijing Benz) produced Jeeps for the Chinese language market just like the XJ Cherokee.

However BAIC Motor ceased constructing Jeep automobiles in 2006, with the American model as a substitute partnering with Guangzhou Vehicle Group.

It’s unclear whether or not Jeep has tried to cease the sale of the Beijing BJ40/Ickx K2, contemplating it has efficiently sued Mahindra to forestall it from promoting its equally Wrangler-inspired Thar in Australia.