Geely Preface – production sedan shown, Q4 debut

Last year, Geely showcased the Preface concept, which it said would preview “high-end, personal, sporty” vehicles coming to the company’s lineup. Well, what do you know – 16 months later and the sedan is finally entering production, as seen in these first images.

On the exterior at least, the Preface is relatively faithful to the show car, sporting many of the same design cues. At the front, you’ve got the same bold interpretation of the Expanding Cosmos grille, now featuring vertical bars that give the car a classier version of Mercedes-AMG’s Panamericana look. The grille now sits proud of the slim headlights, which come with twin projectors on each side.

Lower down, the configuration of triple air intakes remains, although the corner inlets are larger and gain two horizontal slats. Along the side, Geely continues to deemphasise the front fender bulge that currently proliferates its range of cars, now consisting of a subtle line that flows from the headlights into the window line. Speaking of which, the chrome window strip is a unique flourish – it starts from the bonnet shutline and goes all the way around the six-window glasshouse, before cutting across the door mirrors.

A second character line starts from the front fenders and stretches to the rear, where it goes above the rear deck and the narrow trapezoidal tail lights. The bumper holds the rear number plate recess, a diffuser-like insert and a pair of Bentley-esque oval tailpipes.

There were a few changes made on the way to production, of course – the door mirrors are larger, there are proper door handles, and the doors themselves are no longer suicide items – but otherwise, it’s still recognisably a Preface. No photos of the interior have been released just yet, but expect the car to at least have an approximation of the concept’s cabin, which featured twin freestanding displays, a minimalist horizontal dashboard and a concave centre console.

Under the skin, the Preface rides on the Compact Modular Architecture, which was developed in partnership with Volvo and also underpins the XC40 and the Xingyue. Further details, including the available equipment and the range of engines, will be announced closer to the car’s market launch in China, which is slated to happen in the fourth quarter of the year.

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