At the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show in China, a country where knockoffs are almost a part of life (you may remember GM alleged but could not prove a case of copyright infringement when Chery introduced its QQ, a near clone of GM’s Spark), a company named Geely showed a concept that was almost an exact replica of the Rolls-Royce Phantom sedan, except it would use inferior parts and cost much less. Well, maybe Roll-Royce’s threats of legal action were enough for Geely to redesign its concept to be less of a Phantom clone.

Set to be unveiled at the 2010 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition is a new GE with a very different look. Gone is the squared face with a large upright grille and a Spirit of Ecstasy-like hood ornament. It has been replaced with a more curvaceous front end with a large round grille and headlamps that are no longer square and that now wrap around the front of the car. The back end was made to look less like the Phantom as well, although now it reminds us of a cross between a 7-series and an S-class. We will learn more after the official unveiling on April 23.

[via AutoCar.co.uk]

This is not the first time that Geely has been accused of stealing someone's style. As you can see below the Geely Merrie 300 concept looks an awful like the old Mercedes C-class and Geely's Merry logo looks very similar to the one found at your local Toyota dealership.

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