Geely Shows Broader Product Range at 2011 Shanghai Auto Show

SHANGHAI, China — A hardtop convertible, a Mini knockoff and a civilian edition of the London Taxi are among the highlights on the Geely stand at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. The Chinese automaker will market the new cars on its home turf under the Gleagle, Emgrand and Englon sub-brands.

For the fourth straight year, Geely is showing a sporty two-seater at the annual auto show, this one dubbed Gleagle GS-CC. The hardtop convertible follows the Gleagle GS coupe from last year's Beijing show, which in turn was a refinement of the Geely GT and Geely Tiger concepts.

The GS-CC features a two-piece folding hardtop that stows in the trunk and is powered by a either a normally aspirated, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine or a turbocharged 1.3-liter four-cylinder.

The Mini Cooper has already inspired several Chinese copies, most notably Geely's Emgrand EC6-RV. To emphasize the connection on its latest derivative, Geely applied a two-tone paint scheme to the showcar, which has a white roof. The four-door hatchback offers the same engine choices as the GS-CC, along with a new seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission.

Englon, Geely's third sub-brand, is a play on the word England and is tied to the automaker's controlling stake in Manganese Bronze, the parent company of the London Taxi. Geely's Englon SC7-RV is styled like a taxi cab and is a further development of last year's Englon TXN concept.

The SC7-RV measures 173 inches long — about 6 inches longer than a Scion xB — and stands 61 inches tall. Power comes from a choice of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines.

Inside Line says: Geely describes all three showcars and pre-production "study" models, but look for at least two in production inside of two years. Guess which ones. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent