China's BYD Has Built a 505-Horsepower SUV that Actually Doesn't Look Like a Complete Disaster

But this latest offering from BYD might prove to be an actual big boy car. Called the Tang 542, the new SUV is a hybrid, boasting a combined 505 horsepower. The name comes from both the Tang Dynasty and “acceleration under 5 seconds, 4 wheel drive, and less than 2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers.”

It's kind of a weird stretch, but it's not really any different from the “442” in the old Cutlass 442, which stood for a lot of things, but none of them were 442 of anything. The car offers an air purifier, which is more important in China than it is elsewhere, but is never a bad thing to have. The styling isn't completely unique, but neither is it a blatant rip off. Pricing starts at $48,000, which is pretty reasonable for a 505-horsepower SUV in China, although the “Ultimate Edition” version that you see here goes for $96,430. Quality and safety could still be issues, but we'll have to wait and see.