CARS OF THE WORLD

BYD FangChengBao Leopard 2024.

Frame hybrid FangChengBao Leopard 5 from BYD.
The first model of BYD’s new FangChengBao brand, the Leopard 5 mid-size frame hybrid SUV, premiered in China this year.

Following FangChengBao is going to bring to market a larger SUV Leopard 8 and a more compact Leopard 3.

We already covered the FangChengBao brand this week when the Leopard 5’s appearance was revealed.

Let us briefly recall that FangChengBao (方程豹) in Chinese means «leopard formula» or «leopard equation».

In the hierarchy of BYD, the new brand will be placed between the luxury brand Yangwang and the premium brand Denza, FangChengBao will produce brutal pickup trucks and SUVs with plug-in hybrid and all-electric power plants.

The Leopard 5 debuted as a hybrid, based on the DMO (stands for Dual Mode Off-Road) frame platform.

Overall length — 4890 mm, width — 1970 mm, height — 1920 mm, wheelbase — 2800 mm. Suspension — fully independent, spring, front — double wishbones, rear — multi-link.

The bottom of the SUV is completely flat, the ground clearance is 220 mm (while the possibility of its adjustment is declared), the approach angle is 35 degrees, the exit angle is 32 degrees, the ramp angle is 20 degrees.

The Leopard 5 hybrid power plant consists of a longitudinally mounted gasoline turbo engine (1.5 l, 194 hp or 2.0 l, 245 hp) and two electric motors (one per axle), the peak power of the front electric motor is 200 kW (272 hp), rear — 285 kW (387.5 hp).

The maximum combined power of the Leopard 5 power plant with a 1.5-liter internal combustion engine is about 700 hp, acceleration to 100 km / h takes only 4 s.

The permissible mass of the towed trailer is 2.5 tons. The capacity of the battery mounted in the frame is not disclosed, it is only known that the cruising range with a full tank and a fully charged battery will be about 1200 km.

Three lockable differentials are also announced in the equipment, but from the layout it can be seen that the car does not have an interaxle differential and we are only talking about simulating the “center” lock using electronics.

Interior FangChengBao Leopard 5 Chinese journalists had to photograph through the window of a closed car, the details are not really visible, but in general it is clear that there is a square-nest design and expensive finishes.

An electronic instrument panel will complement the huge 50-inch projection screen.

The Leopard 5 should go on sale this year at a price of 400,000 yuan (5.3 million rubles in translation at the current exchange rate), and the next models, the Leopard 8 and Leopard 3, will apparently enter the market as early as 2024.

The Leopard 8 was shown yesterday as a concept named Super 8. CarNewsChina magazine suggests that Super 8 is the export name of the future model, meaning the new brand is intended to be global.

The Leopard 8 has an even more angular body than the Leopard 5, but the Leopard 3 shown only on the presentation slide, on the contrary, will be more rounded.