Zotye’s Upcoming T800 SUV Is A Range Rover Sport Rip-off

In case you thought the Chinese have run out of Western models to plagiarize, check out this Zotye T800 prototype, doing a particularly bad job at pretending it’s not a Range Rover Sport clone.

Aside from the… patent-style images from Zotye, the car was also captured in prototype form (images via CarNewsChina) which paint a pretty clear picture about the T800, from its overall dimensions all the way to its not very original styling. Still, to anybody who’s rooting for the T800, we’ll at least admit that it does do a good job at mimicking the Range Rover Sport’s form factor.

Yet, there are obvious differences, such as the different taillight design as well as the design of the front fascia, which we can see thanks to a bunch of patent images released a while back. Let’s put it this way, it’s not as good of a replica as the Landwind X7, which from a distance, looks identical to the Range Rover Evoque.

2018 Range Rover Sport

The T800 also has similar vents to the RRS, similar shark fin antenna and a roof-mounted spoiler.

Land Rover outside, Mercedes-Benz inside?

Inside, the center console is a lot more Mercedes-Benz than it is Land Rover. The rest of the dashboard doesn’t resemble anything specific, but we wouldn’t go as far as to call it original.

Quality-wise, things seem to be in order as leather is used abundantly, bolstered by contrast stitching on the seats, center console and even on the upper dashboard.

This Oriental Range Rover Sport is far from ready

According to reports by Sina, the Zotye T800 will make its debut early next year, targeting large SUVs such as the Haval H9, the Toyota Highlander or the Guangzhou Trumpchi GS8.

As for power units, rumor has it that it will receive 1.8-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol engines that run in the Zotye family. For example, a 2.0-liter turbo with 190 HP could be in the cards, as it already powers the Chinese automaker’s SR9 Macan clone.