Sitting on 21-inch wheels, this limousine measures 5.60 m long, 2.03 m wide and 1.59 m high. Its stance and proportions recall those of a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Its name, Altior, means “higher” in Latin. It sums up the stated ambition: to place itself at the summit of the luxury-car galaxy.
The designers have pushed the resemblance down to the detail. An umbrella is installed in the rear door, as on the models of the English marque.
The architecture retains opposing doors and is distinguished by the absence of a B-pillar, a layout that opens up access to the cabin widely.
Yangwang has also drawn on the British high end for the rear space, treated as a rolling lounge rather than as a simple limousine bench.
The interior atmosphere, by contrast, draws on Chinese craftsmanship: perforated Suzhou embroidery, silk-thread motifs and wood decorations.
On the technical side, the Altior still keeps its secrets. It is known that it will be powered by four electric motors.
The high-capacity battery is to accept the ultra-fast charging technology developed by BYD, capable of receiving nearly 1,000 kW of power.
Beyond this powertrain and this charging compatibility, the other technical characteristics were not unveiled at the presentation.
The approach extends a penchant already observed at BYD for high-end English automobiles, whose most visible codes Yangwang takes up here.
The proximity to the Phantom leaves open BMW’s reaction, as the owner of Rolls-Royce. Nothing indicates at this stage a position from the German group, but the apparent copy of its flagship could irritate it.