The Dongfanghong BJ760 is an executive sedan produced by BAW. Development started as a licensed copy of the GAZ-21 Volga with assistance from the Soviets sharing chassis units, drawings and blueprints for reference, and was produced from 1960 to 1969 with a total of 238 units produced. It replaced the Jinggangshan sedan by BAW. During development, the car was named Xinghuo 76 (Spark 76), but was later changed to Dongfanghong for the production version. The name Dongfanghong means "The East is Red" and refers to a patriotic song of the Chinese Communist Party. The name has been used by multiple companies for branding and product names.[1][2]
History
In 1958, the Great Leap Forward campaign began in China, the goal of which was to catch up with China's lagging behind Western countries. The consequences of this initiative also affected the automotive sector and since 1958, several Chinese factories began to produce passenger cars with the most well-known being the Dongfanghong BJ760 (based on the GAZ-21), Dongfeng CA71 (based on the Simca Vedette),