Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

235: Chapter 235 Red Flag H7 Star Journey Royal RealmThe first vehicle to drive onto the stage was the fuel-powered version of the Red Flag H7, its gemstone black paint shimmering with deep luster under the lights.

The body lines were elegant yet powerful: a long hood, short front overhang, and a fastback roofline that retained the dignity of a luxury sedan while incorporating the agility of a sports coupe.

”Dimensions,” Zhou Qingyu said with a wave of his hand as the big screen displayed the data. ”5210 mm long, 1920 mm wide, 1485 mm high, with a wheelbase of 3150 mm.”

”It is 98 mm longer than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and 105 mm longer than the BMW 5 Series.”

Low murmurs rippled through the audience.

”But size isn’t everything.” Zhou Qingyu walked over to the car and patted the hood. ”What’s inside is the soul.”

The screen switched to show a rotating cross-section of the 3.0T V6 turbocharged engine.

”Our self-developed third-generation V6, twin-turbocharged, with a maximum power of 280 horsepower and a peak torque of 450 Nm,” Zhou Qingyu said, his voice carrying the distinct pride of an engineer. ”It goes from zero to one hundred in 6.2 seconds, but more importantly—the power response delay is no more than 0.3 seconds.”

He pressed the remote in his hand, and the big screen began playing a comparison video.

On the left was the Red Flag H7, and on the right were the Mercedes-Benz E350 and the BMW 530i, with all three vehicles driving simultaneously on a professional test track.

The first scene: straight-line acceleration.

The three cars started at the same time, and the Red Flag H7 took the lead by a narrow margin.

The second scene: continuous curves.

This was the most shocking part—when cornering, the Red Flag H7’s body roll was significantly less than the other two cars, its posture as stable as if it were traveling on rails.

”We have adopted an all-new active air suspension and electronic anti-roll bar system,” Zhou Qingyu explained. ”This system monitors the vehicle’s posture 500 times per second, adjusting the suspension stiffness and damping of each wheel in real-time. The result is—”

The video froze on a comparison of the roll angles of the three cars as they navigated the same curve:

Red Flag H7: 3.2 degrees

Mercedes-Benz E350: 4.5 degrees

BMW 530i: 4.8 degrees

Body roll reduced by 30%.

In the audience, BMW Chairman Zipse frowned.

He whispered to his assistant beside him, ”Check who their suspension supplier is.”

The assistant quickly checked on his tablet, his expression turning grim. ”Chairman, it’s the ’Xingchi Chassis Company,’ newly established under Spark Group. It’s all self-developed... the patent barriers are very high.”

Zipse was silent for a few seconds, then let out a soft sigh.

On stage, Zhou Qingyu had moved on to the safety demonstration segment.

”The prerequisite for luxury is safety,” he said. ”High-strength steel accounts for 78%, aluminum alloy covering parts for 22%, and the body rigidity has been increased by 25% compared to the previous generation.”

Then he did something that made the whole venue gasp.

Behind the stage, a ten-meter-high lifting platform slowly rose, with an identical fuel-powered Red Flag H7 parked on top.

”This simulates a vehicle falling from a height—like an overpass accident,” Zhou Qingyu said calmly. ”We have conducted thirty-seven such tests, and today, we will let everyone see the thirty-eighth.”

He pressed the button.

The lifting platform suddenly opened, and the vehicle fell vertically!

”Boom!”

From a height of ten meters, the vehicle slammed heavily onto the specially designed cushioning material, but the sound still made everyone’s heart tighten.

The safety team rushed forward, but Zhou Qingyu raised his hand to stop them. ”Let the audience see for themselves.”

The big screen switched to multi-angle slow-motion footage:

The roof touched the ground first, the sunroof glass shattered but did not scatter

The A-pillar deformed slightly but did not break

All four doors could be opened normally three seconds after the impact

More importantly, data from the crash test dummies installed in the car showed that the force on the necks and chests of the driver and passengers was within safety standards.

”The national standard is 5 stars,” Zhou Qingyu said. ”The standard we set for ourselves is—to let every passenger walk out alive.”

Thunderous applause erupted.

In the front row VIP area, Mercedes-Benz President Kallenius turned to Audi CEO Duesmann and whispered, ”Their safety test standards have already exceeded the European Union regulatory requirements by at least 20%.”

Duesmann gave a wry smile. ”And the cost control is terrifying. If we were to make this car, that suspension system alone would cost an extra 3,000 euros.”

At this moment, Zhou Qingyu announced the price of the fuel-powered Red Flag H7:

Starting from 450,000 rmb

The big screen simultaneously converted it into major currencies:

Approximately 65,000 USD

Approximately 58,000 EUR

Approximately 9.4 million JPY

While the starting price of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class in China is 520,000, the BMW 5 Series is 510,000, and the Audi A6L is 490,000.

The price is 40,000 to 70,000 lower, yet the performance is comprehensively superior.

The live stream chat was going crazy:

”Red Flag is killing it!”

”E-Class owners are crying in the bathroom”

”At this price and with these specs, can BBA still sell anything?”

”Excuse me, is it too late to sell a kidney now?”

But Zhou Qingyu wasn’t finished yet.

”The fuel-powered version is just the foundation,” he smiled. ”What comes next is the true demonstration of technology.”

The second Red Flag H7 drove onto the stage, its body deep space blue, with low-drag wheels.

”The Red Flag H7 hybrid version, priced at 550,000 rmb,” Zhou Qingyu said, getting straight to the point. ”But its value is far more than this number.”

The screen lit up with the specifications:

Powertrain: 2.0T turbocharged engine + dual permanent magnet synchronous motors

Combined power: 340 horsepower

Combined torque: 680 Nm

Zero to one hundred acceleration: 5.1 seconds

Pure electric range: 220 km

Combined range: 1800 km

When the number ”1800 km” appeared, the venue was silent at first, then erupted in unbelievable gasps.

What is the concept of 1800 km?

Driving from Shenzhen to Beijing is about 2100 km—the Red Flag H7 hybrid only needs to refuel once along the way.

”We know you don’t believe it,” Zhou Qingyu said, having prepared for this. ”So, we did this.”

The big screen began playing a time-lapse video.

The footage showed a Red Flag H7 hybrid departing from Shenzhen three days ago, heading north along the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway.

Multiple cameras were mounted on the roof, and the dashboard data from inside the car was displayed in real-time.

The video was fast-forwarded, but key moments played at normal speed:

At departure, full tank and full charge, indicated range: 1800 km

After driving 500 km, the pure electric range was exhausted, and it automatically switched to hybrid mode

Driving 1000 km, entered Hubei province, first refueling (refueling process recorded)

Driving 1500 km, entered Hebei province

Finally, when the vehicle entered the Beijing Fifth Ring Road, the indicated remaining range was 127 km

Actual driving distance: 1823 km, exceeding the advertised data.

Even more shocking was the average fuel consumption for the entire trip: 4.2 liters/100 km.

For comparison, the official fuel consumption of the Toyota Camry hybrid is 4.1 liters, but that is a compact sedan, while the Red Flag H7 is a large luxury sedan over 5.2 meters long.

”This is impossible...” in the back of the audience, a Toyota technical expert muttered to himself. ”Using the same hybrid principle, with larger size and weight, how can the fuel consumption be so close?”

His colleague gave a wry smile. ”Unless their engine thermal efficiency exceeds 45% and motor efficiency exceeds 97%—but those are theoretical limits.”

On stage, Zhou Qingyu seemed to have guessed everyone’s questions.

”I know what many engineers are thinking,” he said, pulling up a technical schematic. ”Our hybrid system has three breakthroughs: First, the 2.0T engine uses ’ultra-lean combustion’ technology, achieving a thermal efficiency of 43.8%, the highest of any mass-produced car globally; second, the motor uses Spark’s self-developed third-generation permanent magnet material, with an efficiency of 97.2%; third, and most importantly—”

He zoomed in on the cross-section of the transmission.

”Our self-developed 9-speed dedicated hybrid transmission’s shift logic is not based on vehicle speed, but on real-time road conditions and driving intent. The system uses cameras and radar to predict the road ahead and pre-select the optimal power distribution strategy.”

He gave an example: ”For instance, if there is a long uphill slope one kilometer ahead, the system will charge the battery in advance on the flat road, then use electric assistance to help with the climb, avoiding high-load operation of the engine. This algorithm has learned from over 1 million kilometers of actual road data in China, so it is particularly suitable for local use.”

The demonstration continued.

Zhou Qingyu opened the rear door and invited a member of the audience to come on stage to experience the ”aviation seats.”

It was a European media reporter, and when he sat in the back row, his eyes widened.