CarBrandLogos archive · VinFast · 2019

VinFastLux SA2.0

A BMW platform, a Pininfarina suit, and a factory built in under two years.

Photo: Autovietnam · CC BY 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in VinFast history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the VinFast Lux SA2.0, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

VinFast was created in 2017 by VinGroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate with roots in property and retail, with the aim of building the country's first mass-market car brand. The strategy was to buy expertise rather than develop it: the previous-generation BMW X5 platform was licensed, BMW's N20 turbocharged four provided the engine, ZF supplied the eight-speed automatic, Pininfarina styled the body, and Magna Steyr helped with the engineering integration.

Paris Motor Show 2018, Paris · Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 4.0

Vinfast Lux SA 2.0, Paris Motor Show 2018, IMG 0371

Design and engineering

The factory at Haiphong was completed in around 21 months, which was the more remarkable achievement. The Lux SA2.0 went on sale in 2019 as a mid-size rear- or all-wheel-drive SUV, priced for the domestic market and sold almost entirely within Vietnam, alongside a Lux A2.0 saloon on the same underpinnings. A small number of President versions were built with a General Motors V8.

Vinfast Lux SA 2.0, Paris Motor Show 2018, IMG 0371 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0

Newone - VinFast Lux SA2.0 petrol standard

In production

Production ended in 2022 when VinFast abandoned internal combustion entirely to concentrate on electric vehicles. It was a short life, but it gave the company a manufacturing base, a supply chain and a body of experience that the EV programme was built on.

Newone - VinFast Lux SA2.0 petrol standard · Newone · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2019–2022

Engine

Petrol engine

Designer

Pininfarina

Body

5-door SUV

Technical specification

The Lux SA2.0, in detail.

Production: 2019–2022
Class: Mid-size luxury crossover SUV
Body style: 5-door SUV
Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout; Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive ; Front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout; Front-engine, all-wheel-drive
Engine: Petrol engine; Petrol: ; 2.0 L BMW N20#N20B20; BMW N20B20 turbo Straight-four engine; I4 ; 6.2 L LS based GM small-block engine#Generation V (2013–present); GM LT1 V8 engine; V8 (President)
Transmission: 8-speed ZF 8HP automatic
Designer: Pininfarina
Assembly: Vietnam: Haiphong (VinFast Trading and Production LLC)
Manufacturer: VinFast