American made to put on gloves to examine China’s most expensive car reveals why it costs seven figures in US dollars
Published on May 06, 2026 at 2:50 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on May 06, 2026 at 2:56 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
This American car reviewer was given the opportunity to take a closer look at the most expensive car made in China, but there was a caveat.
For some reason, they wouldn’t let him get near the car without gloves.
It’s understandable given the materials, yet virtually unheard of in the industry.
Then again, the price tag is indeed quite steep, and there’s another reason why this car is so important.
The most expensive car you may have never heard of
The brand Hongqi is still relatively unknown to American and European drivers, unless you’re a hardcore Grand Tour fan with good memory.
A few years ago, the Hongqi L5/Guoli was featured and reviewed in an episode of The Grand Tour filmed in China.
Hongqi is what you’d call a luxury brand.
Like Bentley, or maybe even Rolls-Royce.
This explains why Forrest Jones, an American car reviewer who often covers Chinese cars, was actually asked to wear gloves before he was even allowed to touch the most expensive car available in China.
The vehicle in question is the Hongqi Guoli, previously known as L5, the same car that Clarkson drove.
Hongqi is Mandarin for ‘Red Flag’, a symbol of the Chinese Communist Party, but the car feels more capitalist than anything else, starting with the price: $1 million.
You do get a lot of car for your money, though.
The door handles are adorned with genuine jade, and the hub caps and steering wheel feature gold flowers.
The newer version has a 4.0-liter V8, but the older model, which is still used as an official state car and parade car, is also available with a 6.0-liter V12, which produces around 400 horsepower.
It isn’t very fast, though.
Mainly because it weighs 3,150 kilograms – nearly 7,000 pounds.
This is also the Chinese President’s car
British royals drive Range Rovers or Jaguars, the US President uses Cadillacs, and the Chinese President uses this: the Guoli.
But with a few differences.
The Beast, the bulletproof Cadillac used by POTUS, is built from scratch.
By contrast, the President of China uses Hongqi that’s based on the production model.
It is obviously heavily modified for security reasons, but, visually, it looks like any other Hongqi.
Also, the presidential Cadillac is destroyed after being decommissioned, but we don’t know whether the same fate awaits the Hongqi.
Hopefully not.
It’s expensive, massive, and probably impractical – but it’s certainly a fascinating car.
After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
