MG showed its new face at the 2009 Shanghai auto show on a thinly veiled 'concept car' that could make production within 18 months.

Called the MG6, the model is a five-door hatch that will act as an all-new model below the current MG7 executive sedan (based on the old Rover 75 and MG ZT). The MG6 uses the same platform and wheelbase as its sister car the Roewe 550 sedan but offers a much sportier profile reminiscent of a small Lexus GS due to a wide rear pillar. The front face abandons the vertically split front grille of the MG7 with its badge placed above and opts instead to put the famous MG logo at the center of the design, as SAIC's UK's design director Tony Williams told Car Design News: "A key idea of the new face is MG's octagon-shaped badge. It's unique so we placed it within the thin upper grille and gave the model a large lower intake suggestive of a sportscar."

A feeling of safety is created by a reassuringly high beltline teamed with a smooth shoulder line that runs the length of the car from behind the front lamps in a very gentle arc that gets close to the beltline. Other than a shallow rocker line rising up slightly to the rear wheelarch, there is little other side detail, just refined surfacing.

Williams said much of the early sketch and CAD design work for the MG6 was carried out in the UK with later modeling work done in Asia, citing the creative talents of Daniel Bowen and Rob Battams on the exterior and Matt Dillon on the interior in particular.

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One of the surprises of the 2009 Shanghai auto show was the Chana E301 Concept from Chongqing Changan Automobile - a manufacturer more commonly known for making everyday vehicles like the Mondeo, Swift and 2 in joint ventures with Ford, Suzuki and Mazda.

Forget its notional EV aspect - no more details are explained in the press info for this vehicle billed as part coupe, part SUV and part pick-up - the 301's most interesting details are its boldly angular exterior styling and unusual two-plus-one interior seating arrangement with enclosed luggage tunnel in place of the fourth seat space behind the driver.

The aggressive look starts where the bodywork wraps around the inset ultra slim headlamps and connects up to the equally recessed front air intakes to create two sharp and symmetrical black graphics within the white bodywork. The wraparound windshield creates a clamshell roof and dramatic gull-wing-doors hinge halfway down their height and feature see-through lower sections. At the rear the symmetry turns to asymmetry as the roof tapers to one side to reveal a sliding horizontal hatch that hides the aforementioned luggage space. This space can also be accessed by a pick-up-style tailgate.

Inside, the grey, white and black cabin is accented with fluorescent yellow and a good feeling of space is created via slim seats, organic-looking bone-like seat bases, and an arch-shaped centre console with 'major air' behind it.

Chief designer Li Bo says the car was built by Turin's Vercarmodel but designed in-house as a group effort between Changan's Chinese and Italian design studios (Changan has a team of 20 based in Turin). The concept could preface a near-future production car shorter and wider and of a similar height to a Nissan Qashqai but Bo concedes any production version would have five doors and five conventional seats. Either way, the 301 is one of the more exciting concepts we've seen from a Chinese OEM in some time.

One of the most dramatic designs sporting a Chinese OEM badge at the 2009 Shanghai auto show was the GT or 'Geely Tiger'. Although attendees of the Beijing auto show in April 2008 will be already familiar with the basic sports coupe exterior shape, the 2009 version now features a complete four-seat interior accessed by working scissor doors and a new maroon metallic paint job plus engine details for the first time.

Powered by a 300bhp 3.5 V6 unit, it is fractionally wider, taller and shorter than the Maserati Gran Turismo it could rival, with a shorter wheelbase (2805mm vs. 2942mm). The large 'growling' but 'butterfly wing-topped' front grille features a series of lozenge-shaped and chrome-accented holes, while a forward character line extends from the front wheelarch to move almost horizontally back before undercutting another line coming from the rear wheelarch. Exaggerated brightwork wraps around the tail lights to help define the dynamism of the rear of the car and bisects another line rising up from the center of the color-coded bumper section to form a subtle 'x' graphic on both sides.

Geely's design chief Mike Ma told Car Design News the car was designed by Giugiaro and is destined for production in 2010. The doors still have no conventional handles, opening instead through intelligent sensing and identification, and the view behind is catered for via a hidden rear view mirror using video imaging technology.

Aside from these showcar touches the inside all looks very much production-ready with smart horizontally-ribbed sports seat cushions, bolstered black seat backs, a straightforward high center stack and console with red-lit controls to convey a sporty feel and a regular steering wheel and black and maroon IP.

Along with the IG city car (see separate report) it was one of the stars of the Geely exhibit and shows the growing confidence of the brand.

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