misfit
Since last year we have known the Chinese Ora Punk Cat, a five-door retro model that unmistakably has similarities with the Volkswagen Beetle. Ora’s sister brand Wey now comes with the Yuanmeng, which again strongly resembles the Punk Cat, but is considerably less reminiscent of the primal Volkswagen.
The Wey Yuanmeng is not just a model with some retro elements, but a kind of driving ode to the early 1950s. The rounded ‘midship’ is clearly shared with the basic Ora, but head and butt are different. At the rear, this mainly means that a loose ‘luggage space bulge’ drives the Beetle influences to the background, although we also note a smaller rear window. At the front we see a huge, horizontal hood, a grille with plenty of chrome wallpaper and a ditto front bumper, doubled including an extra set of lamps. Also pay attention to the details, because they are beautiful. For example, the arms of the windscreen wipers partly sink ‘into’ the nose, just as was often the case in the past. The completely chromed door handles may also be available.
If this car looks familiar to you, it is not surprising. Wey showed it as a concept car a year ago, but there was no mention of production at the time. So that is indeed the case. Initially, the Wey Yuanmeng is a plug-in hybrid with about 240 hp, coming from a 1.5 liter turbo petrol engine and an electric motor. The battery pack is substantial and therefore good for no less than 195 km of electric range, at least in theory. A fully electric Yuanmeng is also said to be in the barrel. That ‘tradition’ in this case comes from Car News China, which we once again thank you very much for making the necessary information findable. Would you like to order a Wey Yuanmeng yourself? That may be sooner than you think, because according to parent company Great Wall, Wey and Ora are coming to Europe this autumn. AutoWeek also found patent plates of the Yuanmeng in Europe.
The Wey Yuanmeng is not only remarkable for its shape, but also for its position in the Wey range. The rest consists entirely of neat-looking, but not very startling SUVs with names that refer to coffee. The Yuanmeng therefore does not fit in any way between the Mocca, the Macchiato and the Latte, although that is very good for the diversity.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl