Aiways U6ion – a Chinese SUV from the designer of the Ferrari Enzo

We will know that for sure when we get a good look at the Aiways U6ion when the Geneva Motor Show opens on 3^rd March. It’s still only a concept but – unlike some Chinese start-ups looking to Europe – Aiways is in a hurry. Its first car, the U5 electric SUV, was shown as a concept at Geneva last year, confirmed for production by the autumn and is due on sale in some (left-hand-drive) European markets later this year.

The European engineer and design connection comes in the form of Gumpert (ex-Audi Sport boss famous for the Gumpert Apollo supercar) and Ken Okuyama, the former Pininfarina design chief who created the Ferrari Enzo. Gumpert is Aiways product chief and Okuyama the company’s chief design advisor.

As well as SUVs, Aiways, a subsidiary of the giant Chinese SAIC corporation, has tempted us with electric sports cars in the past – a pretty concept from Geneva last year called the Nathalie. The sporting bent is little surprise given the heritage of Gumpert and Okuyama.

But it is SUVs that hold sway (and make money) these days and the new U6ion seems to fit right in with the zeitgeist. It is based on the same platform as the Audi Q5-size U5 but is larger and gets the more sporting if less practical coupe-style fastback design that people go for.

Aiways doesn’t say, but presumably we can expect a lot more power than the 190bhp the U5 offers as well as a range to match that car’s 280 miles. Also expect aluminium and steel construction, batteries sandwiched under the floor and an all-digital touchscreen-based dashboard.

In a Geneva show full of SUVs it will be interesting to see how the U6 stacks up… and hear if it really will make production and if so will they make it in right-hand-drive? For a 21^st century “personal mobility provider” not having the steering wheel on the correct side would appear a particularly antiquated…