Borgward is back with BX7 crossover headed to Frankfurt Motor Show

Chinese-built seven-seater expected to start at $30,000 once it gets home to Germany Borgward, the German marque which has been on hiatus for a few decades, has revealed its comeback car ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.

Dubbed the BX7, seemingly borrowing Cadillac’s new naming scheme, the seven-seater SUV will be the reborn marque’s first new model, one of many the company is promising. Due to go into production in China, the Borgward BX7 will be offered only there at first. But the company has plans to launch in new markets after the first year of sales in the Middle Kingdom.

Auto Bild reports that the new SUV, which seems to have been sneaking a look at Buick and Audi sketchbooks, will be powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder producing 224 hp, and will send power to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox with an electronically-managed multi-plate clutch system created by — no, not Borgward — BorgWarner.

When it comes to exterior design, the company has purposefully adopted a very German exterior — we can see this vehicle wearing an Audi or Volkswagen badge pretty easily. The front fascia would not look out of place on a facelift of the Q5 or even a Skoda, but the Buick-like grille is in fact trying to replicate the look of Borgward’s last production cars. The overall result appears very modern and production-ready — this does not look like a half-baked concept that you’ll never see again after the show.

Auto Bild indicates that Borgward will also use its debut at Frankfurt to show off a plug-in hybrid version of the same SUV, featuring a 401-hp gas-electric powertrain that will add an electric motor to the same 2.0-liter engine.

Expect an equally well-stocked interior with a 12.3-inch infotainment system, pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control and automatic braking.

The BX7 will head to dealerships in China starting in 2016, but will land back in its homeland a short while later with an expected starting price of approximately $30,000.