While China was once infamous for their automotive acts of, charitably, near-plagiarism, over the last decade or so the larger Chinese automakers have distanced themselves from this practice and done a lot to define a uniquely Chinese design language for their cars. That doesn’t mean that everyone is doing that, of course, as you can see in this new truck from Foton (a subsidiary of BAIC), which looks an awful lot like a Ford Raptor. So maybe you can get a 2021 Ford Raptor if you can’t wait for Ford to release their new version and if you’re not such a stickler for details.
The Foton Da Jiang Jun (which means, wonderfully, The Big General) has just been released in China, and, as you can see from the pictures grabbed from Chinese social media posts, it’s pretty clearly modelled on a 2020 Ford Raptor.
The Foton truck doesn’t quite have the same specs as the Raptor, which boasts a 3.5-litre V6, instead of coming with your choice of a 2-litre gasoline turbo four or 2 or 2.5-litre diesels, both bolted to a manual 8-speed ZF gearbox. The gasoline one makes 238 horsepower, about 200 less than Fords, but it’s not that bad, really, especially if you factor in that you can’t spec a Raptor with a manual.
Based on the source in China who sent me these images and the link to the story, the Foton’s Raptor-aping looks are earning it some mockery on Chinese social media, which is interesting as it shows that the rampant copycatting is no longer an accepted part of Chinese automotive culture.
Even so, Ford’s recent focus on the Bronco as their primary off-roaders toy might put the existence of a new F150-based Raptor into question. If that happens, and Ford abandons the Raptor for the new Bronco, then this Foton maybe diehard new-Raptor fetishists’ only option.
Good luck getting one here if that’s you, of course. Just be sure to tell us all about it.