[VIDEO] Chinese EV Company Will Show its Retro C1 Corvette 2+2 at the LA Auto Show

Aug 12, 2026

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[VIDEO] Chinese EV Company Will Show its Retro C1 Corvette 2+2 at the LA Auto Show

If you’ve ever wondered what a Chinese interpretation of a first generation Corvette might look like, you’ll get your chance this fall — but you won’t be able to buy one.

The retro-styled creation, built by FullGood Motors and based on a BYD Dolphin, is headed to the Los Angeles Auto Show, where it will appear alongside an equally playful reinterpretation of a classic Volkswagen bus.

The car in question is the SS Dolphin, a plug-in hybrid dressed up to resemble a 1958 C1 Corvette. FullGood Motors — formerly Songsan Motors — has made a name for itself by transforming modern Chinese EVs into nostalgic throwbacks. While most Chinese automakers are racing to build faster, sleeker, more advanced electric vehicles, FullGood is sprinting in the opposite direction, reviving midcentury Americana with chrome, fins, and whitewall tires.

Chinese EV Company Showing its Retro C1-Styled 2+2 at the LA Auto Show

The company first unveiled the Corvette look alike in 2020, and despite its unusual concept, it sold out quickly in China. It has never appeared on American soil, which makes its upcoming Los Angeles debut a first. Underneath the retro bodywork sits a plug-in hybrid powertrain pairing a 1.5 liter turbocharged four cylinder with an electric motor for a combined 315 horsepower and a sub five second 0–60 time. A 16-kWh battery provides up to 60 miles of electric only driving.

Inside, the SS Dolphin trades 1950s simplicity for modern tech, including a digital instrument cluster, touchscreens, and a multi-function steering wheel — reminders that this isn’t a Corvette, but a cleverly disguised BYD.

FullGood plans to begin large scale production in 2026, with a four-door version also in development. But none of these cars will be sold in the United States. They’re coming to the LA Auto Show strictly as display pieces before being shipped back to China.

The company will also showcase “Summer,” its reinterpretation of the Volkswagen T1 bus. The retro styled van features three doors on each side, three rows of seats that swivel 360 degrees, and oversized chrome accents. It’s expected to enter production in China later this year.

A recent video from Everything Electric APAC highlights just how unusual FullGood’s approach is. As the host puts it: “These guys took a BYD car, chopped the body off, put the body of a 1950 Chevrolet on top, and then sold it in China for $150,000 US, where classic cars are illegal to have on the road here.”

The video traces the company’s roots back to a 1995 Beijing motorcycle club that embraced American chopper culture at a time when China had only about 65,000 cars on the road. Today, FullGood is pushing boundaries again — not with speed or tech, but with design. Their cars blend nostalgia with new energy drivetrains, creating vehicles that look like they rolled out of a time machine but drive like modern hybrids.

The lineup includes everything from retro hot rods with massive fins to concept vans with skylights and rotating seats. Some are prototypes, some are headed for production, and some — like the SS Dolphin — are simply proof that FullGood can take an idea that shouldn’t exist and make it real.

Whether these cars signal a shift in consumer taste or remain niche curiosities, they’re undeniably bold. And for American audiences, the LA Auto Show will offer a rare chance to see China’s most eccentric retro EVs up close — even if they’ll never be sold here.