Ssangyong C200: New Direction
By Feann Torr - 7/October/2008
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Ssangyong C200 Concept
Ssangyong's C200 will spearhead its
new vehicle assault in 12 months time
Shock horror - it's not offensive to the eye
With a 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine outputting
370Nm of torque, the C200 has loads of poke
This is the fruit of the previous Ssangyong design
philosophy: it's got a face only a mother could love
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Paris, France — It seems that Ssangyong has finally changed it's ways. Instead of just using Mercedes powertrains, it now uses the German company's naming conventions too. In
all seriousness, this is the first Ssangyong in history that doesn't
look like it was formed out of some unholy union between
a Daewoo and hammerhead shark (see the car at the bottom of the
page for evidence). Simply put, it's a nice looking motor car. There
are big changes afoot at the Korean car company, who no longer desires
to be the butt of car design jokes; the C200 is the first new
model in a bold new range of vehicles that will begin hitting the road
from 2010. In Australia, Ssangyong has signed a deal with Sime
Darby (the same company that handles Peugeot) so the chances of seeing
this vehicle in Australia are fairly good. Looking for all the
world like a confident, well-proportioned compact SUV, the C200 was
shown at the Paris Motor Show and is the first product fromSsangyong and it's new (cashed-up) partner Shanghai Automotive Industries Group. With more capital available due to the partnership with the Chinese company, Ssangyong contracted the European design house ItalDesign to create the new look, with 70-year-old design guru Giugiaro leading the team. As you can see, the results are impressive. Gone
is the quirky (read: fugly) design that appealed to niche markets,
replaced by a more modern, more mainstream - perhaps inspired? - style. The
front end is nicely proportioned and gone are the dated-looking
headlight assemblies that personified the brand for the last
decade. Even the rear end looks attractive with stylised LED brake lights, while the flared wheels arches add a bit of rotundity. As well as being the first Ssangyong car with a monocoque frame, the
C200 will also be the Korean company's first front-wheel drive car. Measuring 4.4 metres long, the C200 is very much a compact AWD and is about 12cm shorter than the Honda CR-V. It's 1.81 metres wide and looks to have a bit of ground clearance for light duty off-roading. The show car was fitted with 18-inch alloy wheels shod with 255/60 R18. Powered
by a 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine that pumps out 130kW (175hp) and
370Nm of power and coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox, the compact 4WD
vehicle could be just what the Asian car maker needs to kick off its
'coming of age' transformation. But Ssangyong reckons the new C200 model is just the beginning. Commencing
at the end of this decade with the C200, the 'Double Dragon' automaker
plans to have 20 new models launched over the next five years. Too
ambitious? Ssangyong's UK chief doesn't think so. "The [C200]
car is very, very important for us as it's the first demonstration
of the new strategy that was announced at Geneva," says Paul
Williams, SsangYong's UK managing director. But 20 model in five years... that's a lot of cars. Still,
with its newfound Chinese industrial might to back it up, Ssangyong
will probably achieve this feat and it says it will be working closely
with ItalDesign on many of the upcoming models, which means there
shouldn't be too many 'quirky' models emerging from its factories. Though
Australian sales of Ssangyong dropped in 2008, the Korean company's
fortunes could well change in a couple of years. It's feels strange to type it, but Ssangyong has delivered a good-looking vehicle. Related Links:
- SsangYong
Concept Cars (2005)
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