BAIC BJ40 Champion: limited special version for the Russian Federation with two locks

The Champion version is dedicated to BAIC’s victories in the Taklamakan rally, held in the desert of the same name in western China. The BAIC team has won this challenging 13-day race four times, in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2023.

The BAIC BJ40 mid-size frame SUV entered the Russian market last year, and in China between The second generation of this model, which has not yet reached us, is already on sale. However, in China, two generations of BJ40 are produced and sold in parallel; the “first” BJ40 is not going to retire yet.

The first generation BAIC BJ40 was tested by us at the end of last year, our expert Andrey Sudbin then complained that the BJ40 is offered in Russia in the only top-end Flagship configuration for 4,350,000 rubles, while the main competitor — Tank 300 — is cheaper and more diverse in terms of hardware: for the Tank, in particular, an automatic clutch for connecting the front wheels and locking inter-wheel differentials are available.

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BAIC BJ40 has a non-alternative all-wheel drive of the part-time type, with a rigidly connected front axle. There are no mechanical cross-axle differential locks in the Flagship configuration, but they were added to the Champion special version — the corresponding keys appeared on the front panel on the push-button transfer case control unit between the central air ducts.

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Other features of the Champion version are metal crankcase protection, exclusive gray matte body color, painted red brake calipers and suspension springs of the same color, black wheel rims, commemorative nameplates and stickers on the body, extended interior lighting, electric adjustment of the front passenger seat, embroidered Champion inscriptions on the backs of the front seats, front video camera, tool box in the trunk and 220-volt outlet.

The power unit of the Champion version is standard — 2.0-liter gasoline turbo engine (218 hp, 380 Nm) paired with an 8-speed hydromechanical “automatic” ZF.

Only 50 copies of the BAIC BJ40 Champion have been allocated for the whole of Russia, price — 4,500 000 rubles. By the way, the Tank 300 also recently acquired a special version 330 with a V6 engine, but it has not yet reached Russia.