SPY PICS: Lynk & Co 03 seen testing in Colorado

Chinese brand Lynk & Co already revealed its 03 model (pictured) at the Shanghai motor show back in April, when it also announced a lifetime warranty for its entire product range.

But now a pre-production model has been caught out in the open by spy photographers while it was undergoing tests in the US state of Colorado. Although the test vehicle was camouflaged, there was enough detail to suggest the production model will be largely unchanged from the concept. We've included a couple of additional, photos from June, when it was wearing more cladding.

Left unattended, the 03 was a tempting target for the spy snappers, who managed to grab a pic of the left-hook cockpit. For the most part the interior looks conventional, although the gearshift lever promises to be a bit quirky and the instrument binnacle recalls Mazda's recent efforts.

There has been some confusion over the 02 concept car and the 03, with some pundits suggesting one is a hatchback variant of the other. But the 02 concept looked very unlikely ever to make it to production with its weird, hybrid, suicide-cum-scissor doors. And according to Lynk & Co on its Facebook page, the 02 is not planned for production anyway...

https://www.facebook.com/lynkco.global/posts/1176509199143987

It's understood that the 03, which looks far closer to production-ready in concept form, is roughly the same size as an Audi A3 sedan and will be built on Volvo's Compact Modular Architecture. The CMA platform, which is designed for smaller models in the future Volvo product portfolio (and Lynk & Co models too), will also underpin the Swedish brand's 40 Series car in the next generation. Volvo and Lynk & Co – both associated through parent company Geely – will reserve a different modular platform, Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), for larger models.

Lynk & Co will launch first in the Chinese home market next year, we're told, before entering European and North American markets in 2019. Initially the company will open its account with the 01 SUV, with the 03 to follow later. No news yet on whether we'll see the brand here in Australia, but with the company committed to RHD production as well as left-hand drive, and Volvo already here to provide some support for distribution and marketing it's a better than even prospect.