Ickx! Did you buy this Jeep Wrangler clone?

China’s auto industry has matured rapidly and has largely eliminated imitation designs, but there are exceptions.

One of all Ickx K2 will be sold in Italy by DR Automotive, an Italian company founded in 2006 that specializes in renaming vehicles by Chery and JAC Motors.

It is currently expanding to include the BJ40 from BAIC Motor’s Beijing brand.

The K2, which will be the first model under the new Ickx brand, was first revealed last year and is currently on sale in Italy.

It is supported by a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder turbo-diesel engine manufacture 119kW power at 4000 rpm and 380Nm torque at 2600 rpm, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Combined cycle fuel economy is announced at 10.3L / 100km.

It boasts approach, departure and slope angles of 37 degrees, 31 degrees and 23 degrees respectively, with a ground clearance of 220 mm and a wading depth of 500 mm.

There’s double wishbone front suspension and a solid rear axle with coil springs, with electronically-locked front and rear differentials and part-time all-wheel drive with selectable low gear.

It is smaller than 4882mm . length Unlimited Wrangler, 4645mm long. K2 has a weight limit of 2180kg.

Available in a single variant, it costs €54,500 (AU$90,915), about €30,000 less than the Jeep Wrangler sold only in Italy as a plug-in hybrid 4xe.

The K2 comes standard with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, leather upholstery, heated front seats, a power driver’s seat and wheels. 20 inch alloy car.

However, you will only find two airbags.

In Wrangler style, there is also a removable hardtop, although the front grille is carbon fiber, which has a diamond pattern that is different from Jeep’s classic seven-slot design… and a pretty obvious replica of the Beijing BJ40 .

DR Automotive often uses a significantly different grille design on its featured cars, which often makes them look like Grand Theft Auto cars.

While this is not an officially licensed Wrangler, there is a tenuous connection to the iconic Jeep all-terrain vehicle.

BAIC Motor and American Motors Corporation formed a joint venture in 1984 called Beijing Jeep, the first partnership between a Chinese and Western automaker.

AMC at the time was the owner of Jeep, and Beijing Jeep (later Beijing Benz) produced Jeeps for the Chinese market like the XJ Cherokee.

But BAIC Motor stopped making Jeeps in 2006, with the American brand instead partnering with Guangzhou Automobile Group.

It is unclear if Jeep tried to block the sale of the Beijing BJ40/Ickx K2, as it successfully sued Mahindra to stop it from selling Thar inspired the similar Wrangler in Australia.