Our draftsmen.

During our research we unearth a lot of old car photos of bad quality, or photos that give us only some details of the cars we introduce to you.

We get help from friends. They make drawings to enhanse the photos.  Sometimes we ask them, sometimes they volunteer.

I want to thank them. To honour them, we give you an overview of these draftsmen.

We start with the artist LU JIA (陆佳) from Shenzhen, who is also known under his Western name Karl Luk. Lu Jia’s marvellous masterpiece is a 18 m long painting “China dream-Hongqi dream”.  This painting is not made for us, but it is based on our research.

I met Lu Jia several times in China.

Lu Jia and York Wong (Wang Enguang) , driving a Hongqi CA72 in the Beijing-Shanghai Rally 2015. Photo Erik van Ingen Schenau.

When Lu Jia heard that I was visiting York Wong in Hong Kong in 2013, he came after me to give me a special painting as a present; he used my book “Hongqi, the history of a Chinese limousine” as the basis for his painting “China dream- Hongqi dream”.

FELIX BAI (Bai Jian’An, Beijing) is one of my best and oldest Chinese friends. As a car journalist, he introduced me in the world of the Chinese old cars fans, in Beijing, in Shanghai, In Guangzhou.

Together we wrote in 2009 13 back pages for the AMS China magazine.

On my request Felix made drawings of the Chinese first truck, the Minsheng. We hadn’t a really good picture. With help of poor newspaper printings he made a fine drawing.

The car designer CHANG BING (常冰) was responsible for the first limousine of a new series of Da (Big) Hongqi. His HQD concept was shown at the Shanghai Salon of 2005.

Chang Bing also became a very good friend.  He even came to France to visit me.

Nowadays he is very famous Chinese car designer, working for Hozon (Hezhong).

Chang Bing made drawings of the Mingsheng truck, which will be used for a model, either 1:1 till even to 1:43, a project with still an open end. The  drawings are also very useful to give a good idea of this vehicle.

IVAN KOLEV from Bulgaria is automotive artist and historian. I never met him, but I regard him as a friend.

Ivan suprised us in 2009 with a drawing he made of a car made in Shanghai, named Jiaotong. We had never heard of this car.

The drawing was based on a very poor publication in the Russian car magazine Automobile Transport, November 1959.

We were impressed how much detail and how accurate he could use such a poor picture.

We asked Ivan to make sketches for us of several cars, which we show here.

Last month we got a comment of JÖRG-PETER RABE, a German dental technician. Besides his occupation Jörg-Peter makes beautiful drawings.

Jörg-Peter sent us a comment with a drawing of the Xianjin 71-5, a car of which we only have one very bad picture.

He made a colour drawing. Many thanks Jörg-Peter for sending me the original of this picture!

At present Jörg-Peter works on drawings of the Paektusan.

Next is Jörg-Peter at my request preparing a colour drawing.

Five men helping us so much! I am happy to know you and my sincere thanks to all of you!