Electric mini.

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Yes please

BMW considers legal action as Chinese Mini rip-off uncovered | Hagerty UK

This looks familiar, doesn't it? A Chinese company appears to be working on an electric-powered clone of the original classic Mini.

www.hagerty.co.uk

 

[minimutly]

Karma

 

[caprinut]

If the company is a start up JaguarLandrover could buy it that would be a way into the Chinese market and cheaper than trying fight Chinese courts.

Bert

 

[gaz1]

just proves a point with uk data and copyright it dosnt exist

karma at last

 

[frank horton]

Great little cars,

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

This not the first time, nor will it be the last time.

RR, FRord, GM Nissan tried to stop the open copy of their cars, they all lost.

 

[optima21]

you wonder how much work they put into the design when they still have the petrol filler cap sticking out of the car (and other non essential bits).......surely it would have be easier to do the rendering without it.

 

[Bobupndown]

Not sure it will get a full 5 star euro ncap rating
I was driving mine on the motorway on Sunday morning, heading to a mini show, on the inside lane of 3 when an artic passed me. Felt very vulnerable with my eyes at the level of his wheel nuts!

 

[Bobupndown]

you wonder how much work they put into the design when they still have the petrol filler cap sticking out of the car (and other non essential bits).......surely it would have be easier to do the rendering without it.

Electric plug in port?

 

[bricol]

I've mentioned it before - at an industry trade show before Covid, there was a Chinese company the other side of the aisle to us . . . on the stand was a machine that if you put our name on it, no-one would have batted an eyelid. When a colleague in civvies went and asked questions, and got them to open it up, there were un-used tapped holes in components . . . holes we stopped using, or putting in, some years before . . . no-one could tell him what they were for . . . it was such a close visual copy. Given a closer inspection, we could probably have worked out which contract they had copied one of the machines from.

Some European companies equipped their plants with the Chinese machines . . . I believe they are currently negotiating for re-equipping with our machines . . . read into that what you will . . .

That Chinese company has a picture on their website of another machine that looks like one of ours . . . on closer inspection, it is ours! In our factory! It's only recently they photoshopped it to make the clear windows in the guarding frosted to hide our factory that can be seen through those windows

Having said that, some of our components, such as big castings, are produced in China because we simply couldn't find a foundry in the UK that could produce even one high quality casting, never mind hundreds. We did wonder if our patterns were being used for other uses, but we are pretty confident they aren't.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Electric gokart.

you wonder how much work they put into the design when they still have the petrol filler cap sticking out of the car (and other non essential bits).......surely it would have be easier to do the rendering without it.

Probably has something to do with it

MG Rover sold to China | Autocar

Remaining assets of MG Rover go to Nanjing Automobile

www.autocar.co.uk

 

[Morrisman]

Isn't there a time limit as to how long a design is patented, or protected. or whatever it is called?

 

[Alan Reynolds]

Isn't there a time limit as to how long a design is patented, or protected. or whatever it is called?

I thought it was 25 years for cars. That’s why they can produce replica Lambo Coutach, AC Cobra and Ferrari cars etc.

 

[anto44]

I'm pretty sure BMW sued a Chinese company before over a copy of the x5, pretty sure they got no where with the case.

 

[hermetic]

China and India do not recognise world patents, they treat copyright as their right to copy!!

 

[bricol]

That same trade show, one of our suppliers discovered a Chinese copy of their bit of testing equipment, right down to the name and logo on their demo machine . . . Complaints to German authorities and show organisers sorted it for say 2 . . .

They renamed it from something like "inspectx10" to "x10 inspect"

My dad used to design and build specialist packaging equipment (which is how come I got to go on a Polish ship as small kid, followed by visits to British Army supply bases as he serviced his machines (can't imagine 6yr old kids being allowed in any facility with a service engineer now, never mind Army bases!) - my mum used to say the Japanese were as bad in the late 50's/60's mini cameras to photo any and everything they could.

 

[brightspark]

a guy was once selling fiberglass lambo shells for making kitcars. there was hell on because it was identical to the real thing aparently he hired one and used it to make the mould pattern out off

 

[Popcorn]

Mate of mine had one of those, wasn't a kit car but a replica. Only way you could tell it wasn't a countach was the low raving 7.9 litre V8 sounds it made.
Instead of the high reving V12 lamb motor

 

[Greeves246]

a guy was once selling fiberglass lambo shells for making kitcars. there was hell on because it was identical to the real thing aparently he hired one and used it to make the mould pattern out off

When it was returned it was covered in mould release agent.

 

[Morrisman]

I thought it was 25 years for cars. That’s why they can produce replica Lambo Coutach, AC Cobra and Ferrari cars etc.

I heard somewhere recently that Jaguar had won some court case that lead to several replica kit cars being crushed. I can see no reason for that, other than some **** in the halls of power being spiteful.