Spotted in China: U13 Nissan Fengshen Bluebird EQ7200 SSS

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A dusty Nissan Fengshen Bluebird EQ7200 SSS, Spotted in China in the great city of Jinan in Shandong Province. The old ‘Bird was clearly neglected but it didn’t seem to be abandoned. It was just very dirty and it had some not-too serious damage on the front fender.

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The EQ7200 was the first China-made Nissan Bluebird. It was manufactured by a joint venture between Taiwan’s Yulon Motor and China’s Dongfeng Motor. The SSS was the sport version.

The EQ7200 was based on the Nissan Bluebird U13, which was made in Japan from 1991 until 1997. The U13 was made under license from Nissan by Yulon Motor for the Taiwanese market, and it was that car that ended up in the joint venture.

Fengshen was the Chinese brand name and Aolus the English brand name, both meaning “god of wind”.

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Production of the EQ7200, also called the EQ7200-1, started in 1999 and ended in 2002. In 2003 the new Dongfeng-Nissan joint venture took over production of the U13-based models. The EQ7200 was succeeded by the EQ7200-II and the EQ7200-III.

The new joint venture heralded the end of the Yulon-Dongfeng joint venture. The Fengshen name was used for a while on the early series of the EQ7200-II and then disappeared as well.

But nothing is gone forever in China. In 2010 Yulon and Dongfeng started a new joint venture making Luxgen branded cars for the Chinese market. And the Fengshen name now sires a series of Dongfeng cars, based on a mix of Nissan and PSA platforms.

The Dongfeng badge on the grille.

The front-wheel drive EQ7200 was available with two engines: a 125hp 1.8 (SR18DE) and a 145hp 2.0 (SR20DE). The engines were shipped in from Taiwan for final-assembly in China. The later EQ7200 II and III used a China-made variant of the SR20DE. ‘Boxes: 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic.

The Japan-spec U13 SSS was powered by a hefty 210hp 2.0 turbo (SR20DET). The China-spec SSS however had to do with the non-turbo 2.0.

Happily, it did get a racy rear spoiler and sporty wheels with the Nissan logo in the middle.

Very rare to see this sticker still on the car. The G appears to be a trim level, it was also used on the Japan-spec SSS.

The interior was in a reasonable shape, leather a bit worn. An after-market screen has replaced the original control panel & radio in the center stack. Steering wheel is original. Four-speed automatic ‘box.

Spoiler was standard on the SSS. Pipe tips are original.

The EQ7200 badge.

The SSS badge.

Sadly, these early Bluebirds are fast becoming very rare. Most are being scrapped or left to rot along the roadside. Let’s hope someone cleans up and takes good care of this fine black example in Jinan. May she ride a long time a coming!

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