180hp Xiali N3 Eats GTIs For Lunch!

Xiali, a brand you may or may not be aware of is infamous here in China.

The Tianjin based auto company are under the FAW umbrella of brands which also include Hong Qi, and various joint ventures with both Toyota and VW.

Being ‘In bed with Toyota’ so to speak gave FAW/Xiali access to a wide range of technical know how and design process. It also meant Xiali were able to easily licence the plans for Daihatsu’s old Charade hatchback (Daihatsu is owned by Toyota).

The Charade or Xiali N3 as has been made in various facelift versions over the years. The originals though looked just like their Daihatsu counterparts, some earlier models were even fitted with the original ‘Charade’ rear reflector in true 80’s style.

‌The N3 doesn’t have the best street cred though. Mention the little N3 or any Xiali car to a young Chinese guy or girl and you’ll be met with a scoff and a giggle. Regardless of their Lada like status the N3 remains a popular choice for new drivers, and is beginning to make a name for its self in the tuning world.

In Japan and Europe the little Charade is quite a sort after little car, not in poverty shopper spec, but in it’s GTTI Turbo version. Luckily for a few N3’s out there, Chinese tuners have also discovered the road race heritage of their little shoppers and have decided to do them justice with a few choice mods.

This Charade GTTI Turbo inspired Xiali N3, would actually chew up and spit out its Daihatsu brother for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The original Charade GTTI was 993cc and produced 70hp. The Xiali N3 here, however uses a 1.3 Toyota EP82 4E-FTE 16V TURBO engine tuned to a very impressive 180hp!!

The modifications don’t stop there however the cylinder head has been replaced with a EP91 4E-FTE model, which has seen what could be considered a stage 1 upgrade (ported and polished).

The suspension has been lowered with custom made shocks from Taiwan, brakes have been upgraded to 4 pots up front with a Nissan A32 master cylinder and the wheels are lightweight racing items from Enkei.

In fact the full list of mods on this 180hp Xiali would easily take a page or two to cover!

The body kit is original Charade GTTI from Japan as are the body and strut braces!

I’d love to see this little monster in action, and see the faces of all the Xiali naysayers. With light weight, super brakes and 180hp this N3 can easily take on and beat pretty much all the hot hatches and Lancer wannabes here on the Chinese roads!

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