SsangYong teases with its 5.0L Chairman

Weird-looking SUVs are not the only products rolling off SsangYong’s production line these days. The decidedly sleek 5.0L W200 luxury sedan we reported on in October is definitely neither weird-looking nor an SUV. The Chairman, the official name of the W200, is a luxury sedan with power to spare. It is planned for launch in its native South Korea next year, with international market availability before 2010.

The big 5.0L V8 mates to a seven-speed automatic transmission for smoother acceleration. Bigger inside as well, the Chairman will be competing against some of the toughest competition on the market - BMW’s 5- and 7-Series sedans, Mercedes-Benz’s S400 and S500 ranges, Audi’s A6 and A8 - and those are just the German competitors. The SsangYong Chairman will definitely have a hard road ahead, but if these pictures are any indication, it’s well equipped to travel it.

Unlike past SsangYong models, the all-new Chairman is built from the ground-up by SsangYong and is not based on outdated Mercedes-Benz platforms. The maker is planning to build many more - up to 30 new SUVs and cars - by 2011 with the help of parent Shanghai Automotive.