The Ora Lightning Cat Is a Porsche Taycan-Wannabe Chinese BEV, Looks Eerily British

New Chinese vehicles have their own identity today. That's impressive to achieve, considering the Asian country didn't have a car industry or a comprehensive car market in the '80s. As famous designer Frank Stephenson put it, cars appeared to become a mainstream thing in China only a decade later. And in just under 30 years, the country rose among the most important players in the auto industry. It's a feat that deserves recognition, regardless of your stance on the geopolitical side of things.

This evolutionary period, however, was tumultuous. The Asian powerhouse we're seeing in action today didn't just happen at once. It took decades of hard work, sacrifices, deals, and, as a couple of investigations alleged, even some worker's rights abuse. However, one thing known today is that China's one step ahead of anyone currently trying to make BEVs mainstream. Yes, that includes the U.S. too. Until the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other federal programs that come in its support are fully operational, the 'Middle Kingdom' is dominating the battery-electric vehicle world.

Just one Chinese company – CATL, a BMW and Tesla supplier – has a firm grip on 34% of the global EV battery manufacturing. At the same time, the top 10 of the largest such producers includes six companies based in the Asian country. They're on track to greatness – for now.

Some names like Geely or BYD are already starting to become known outside China, despite Europeans and people living in North America still needing to interact with one of the brand's products. However, the Asian country's automotive businesses are ready to go on the offensive and are slowly yet surely trying to make their products known outside their national borders.

They're getting closer!

One such initiative comes from Great Wall Motors (GWM), which owns the Ora brand. The marque says this new entity's name stands for "Open, reliable, and alternative." Transparency may not be China's best-known feature, but its carmakers are surely playing this card. We'll see just how well it will go in Europe, where data protection laws are stringent. Breaking them often results in huge fines.

But Ora has had its eyes set on the UK (which is not part of the EU anymore) for quite some time. It launched the small four-door Funky Cat there late last year. But everyone knows that if you want to make a splash, you must face head-on some of the most popular automakers that are successful in that market. Ora somehow managed to do it – sort of. It brought a fast, quirky-looking, electric, and intriguing car for the British to admire.

The Ora Lightning Cat (don't get too accustomed to this name) is a four-door sedan shaped like a provocative coupe with a dramatic arc at the rear that hints at a stylish exterior and possibly a compromised interior space.

And here's where the issues start appearing. Despite China now having a plethora of fantastic vehicles that sport a somewhat original identity or are at least built from the ground up to not fully resemble existing models elsewhere, the Lightning Cat makes us feel like Ora deliberately chose a couple of defining features for its vehicle that may make it look familiar to Europeans. However, it also makes it look a tad bit weird because it just comprises too many design cues from other brands into a single car.

The overall exterior shape looks like it has been borrowed from Porsche (or the Peugeot RCZ, for gearheads that remember the post-2000 exploratory period of the French automaker). More specifically, it looks like a slightly vertically elongated Panamera. Its headlights look like they were borrowed from Mini – a British icon – while the taillights seem to have been inspired by a Bentley Continental GT that was seriously rear-ended by a vehicle running its engine on high RPMs for quite some time, and that high-temperature melted the housings.

Some questionable decisions...

It's even weirder that Ora decided to borrow a little something from a masterpiece made by Aston Martin – the DBS GT Zagato.

From the side, the Lightning Cat (which might be renamed as "07") reminds us of the recently-introduced Hyundai Ioniq 6. Yet, it still doesn't shake off that Porsche vibe due to its windowed surfaces that look eerily similar to what you would find on a Taycan.

It certainly tries to play best friends with air resistance. As it is a battery-electric vehicle, it must be aerodynamic to ensure efficiency. But did it have to pack so many classic European styling cues to guarantee its success? We'll see if this move will work out.

Inside, the Ora Lightning Cats packs a lot of leather, metal, and piano black surfaces. It neatly combines these elements to reveal a plush, welcoming cabin. But it doesn't fully embrace the digital transition we've seen in Teslas, BMWs, and Porsches. There's a gauge cluster for the driver, some real buttons, a couple of switches, and a bold choice for the imposing center console.

The Ora Lightning Cat may look like it's trying to play with the big boys in Europe, but back at home, the car is worth around $35,000 after subsidies. It is positioned as something one might pick when wanting something better but not too expensive. And it all starts to make sense when you look at the spec sheet.

This funky coupe-ish sedan comes with a dual-motor powertrain in its most expensive form, which helps it put out 402 hp (408 ps) and 502 lb-ft (680 Nm) of torque. It also boasts an 82-kWh LFP battery that allows it to reach a claimed range of at least 280 mi (450 km) and up to 438 mi (705 km) if the "worry-free battery" of an unspecified capacity is optioned.

Maybe it'll get better!

The vehicle has nine cameras, radars, ultrasonic sensors (USS), and a facial recognition camera. It also comes with 5G connectivity and an ultraviolet (UV) system that can neutralize common bacteria and viruses.

Even though it looks like it borrowed a couple of definitory traits from many popular European models, the Ora Lightning Cat doesn't get to play with the likes of the Porsche Taycan just yet. It still needs more power and has a lot of convincing to do before it can become a threat to established auto brands.

For European automakers' sake, let's hope nobody will bring the HiPhi Z or the HiPhi X to Europe. Even Tesla might start to tremble at that point.

Finally, it's great news for competitors that the Ora Lightning Cat, meant to reach only some Europeans right now, is just being shown around as a prototype. But it won't be long before the vehicle becomes available to interested parties.