Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery, Right?
The Chinese automaker Songsan Motors has a new car called the SS Dolphin. The styling is essentially right out of the Corvette C1’s playbook. The company doesn’t even try to hide it. On its website, the company shows celebrities behind the wheel of the real Corvette.
The car is a modern design. It features LED headlights, a modern interior (including an infotainment system), a flat-bottom steering wheel, and a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Yep, the first “hybrid Corvette” comes from China. The car features a turbocharged 1.5-liter engine that’s paired with an electric motor.
According to Carscoops, the powertrain uses a 16 kWh battery pack and allows the car to travel 56 to 62 miles on electricity alone. Zero to 62 mph comes in just 4.9 seconds, which isn’t really too shabby.
The car utilizes the C1 Corvette’s styling and dimensions but changes things a little bit. The car measures 189 inches long, 72.8 inches wide, and 54.7 inches tall. It’s longer and taller than the C1. In the end, you end up with a vehicle that looks like a C1 but just a little bit off. It’s like a Bizarro-World Corvette C1. It’s not a totally horrible design, but there’s nothing original about this car whatsoever.
The price for this pretend-Corvette starts at ¥590,000 ($86,613 / £67,435 / €74,246). At that price, the car is kind of a big ask. For example, you can buy a brand new Chevrolet Camaro for about half that in China. However, if you just want the retro style and don’t care that it’s not the real thing, then maybe the SS Dolphin is for you.
