Haishen HS6250A / HS6250B

In February 1994, the third and most production-oriented version of FAW’s project to create an affordable car for ordinary Chinese families was presented. It was called the Haishen HS6250A.

By that time, the developers had already built the original Sankoule prototype in 1991 and presented the Cycler prototype to the public in 1993. The new car featured its own design and received the name Haishen, which means “Sea God” or Poseidon in Chinese. Its English name was Handsome.

The car was designed by Dong Ruifeng, who had previously worked on the Cycler SKL160. Only three Haishen prototypes were built, and the car was presented to the press in February 1994.

The Haishen was a very compact hatchback with an unusual design for its time.

The Haishen was offered with a choice of two engines: a two-cylinder and a four-cylinder unit, both with a displacement of 250 cc. The project continued to follow the original idea behind Sankoule — creating a small and affordable car for ordinary Chinese families.

A separate company, Beifan Haishen Limited Corporation, was established in Changchun, Jilin Province, to produce the car. It was headed by Li Weidong. The Haishen HS6250A was announced with a price of 30,000 yuan, which at the time was approximately $3,450.

There was also an open-top version called the HS6250B. Photographs show a convertible prototype with a soft top, one of which carried yellow test registration plates.

However, the Haishen never reached full-scale production. The company behind the project eventually disappeared, taking the little-known Haishen project with it. Today, the HS6250A and HS6250B remain among the most obscure attempts by FAW to create an affordable “people’s car” in the early 1990s.