China Isnβt Buying Porsches, But It Sure Loves Making Ones That Look Like Them
- The Aistaland GT7 mirrors the looks of the Taycan Sport Turismo.
- It rides on an 800-volt architecture offering up to three motors.
- The new model is set for its full debut at Aprilβs Beijing Auto Show.
Porsche took a heavy hit in China last year, with sales tumbling 26 percent from 56,887 units to 41,938, a drop steep enough to force significant dealership cuts. While it continues to sell some very compelling cars, the rise of local brands offering similarly styled models at much lower prices has chipped away at Porscheβs luster. With EVs like this entering the scene, itβs not hard to see why.
What youβre looking at is an all-electric estate that clearly draws inspiration from the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo. And no, this isnβt another take on the Xiaomi SU7, the SAIC Z7 unveiled a couple of weeks ago, or the upcoming MG 07 from the same company, even if all of them wear their Taycan influences quite openly.
Read: Porsche Is Shutting Down A Third Of Its Dealerships In China
Instead, this EV is called the GT7 and comes from Aistaland, a newly formed brand backed by Huawei and GAC. It will join the HIMA alliance, which already includes Aito, Luxeed, Maextro, Shangjie, and Stelato. For whatever reason, Chinese brands seem to have developed a habit of using the number β7β for their Taycan-style lookalikes.
European Design With Chinese Tech
The GT7 will be unveiled in full next month, but at this stage, we know itβs 198.9 inches (5,050 mm) long, 77.9 inches (1,980 mm) wide, 57.9 inches (1,470 mm) tall, and rides on a 118.1-inch (3,000 mm) wheelbase. It uses an advanced 800-volt electrical architecture and will be available with up to three electric motors, one at the front axle and two at the rear.
Thereβs no word on how much power the GT7 will have, nor what kind of driving range itβll hit the market with. But given that the Xiaomi SU7 delivers 664 hp in flagship dual-motor guise and 1,527 hp in the tri-motor SU7 Ultra, the GT7 will likely have output somewhere between those two models.
A Cut-Price Taycan
Obviously, the GT7 doesnβt just echo the Porsche Taycan in the way itβs engineered; it leans heavily on it for visual inspiration too. Up front, things are kept relatively clean, with large teardrop-shaped headlights and a small black grille doing most of the work. From the side, itβs even more familiar, with matching door handle placement and a shoulder line that could easily pass for Stuttgartβs handiwork.
The resemblance continues at the rear, where a full-width LED light bar closely echoes the Taycanβs look. Aistaland also seems to have taken a cue from the latest Tesla Model Y, adding two cut-outs above the light bar that glow red and give off a faint jet-thruster vibe.
Thereβs still no sign of the interior, and pricing remains unknown. However, if it lands close to the Xiaomi SU7, which starts at 229,900 yuan ($33,400), and the Z7, expected to begin around the same point, it would sit dramatically below the Porsche. In China, the Taycan starts at 918,000 yuan ($126,000) for the sedan and 1,008,000 yuan ($138,000) for the Sport Turismo, making Porscheβs position in China even harder to defend.