The Zhonghua automaker began to design cars that would be entirely made in China but later marketed abroad. Giugiaro was approached to develop all phases of the project, from preliminary drawings to the creation of prototypes for testing, bringing to bear all the skills he had gained over decades of his career. The involvement even included assistance provided for the start-up of the production line in the new, state-of-the-art Shenyang plant, where the car was unveiled in December 2000.

Production of the Palio, like the Weekend and the Siena, starts in 1996 in Brazil and later is also produced in Argentina, India, China, Turkey, South Africa, Morocco and Russia. The car has a length of 4.16 meters, a width of 1.63 meters and a height of 1.46 meters. The cabin is spacious and comfortable, accommodating up to five passengers. The trunk has a capacity of about 360 liters, and can be further expanded by folding the rear seats. The Palio Weekend is a reliable and sturdy car designed for families who need a versatile and functional car.

A theme on which Giorgetto Giugiaro had tried his hand before, for example in the 1982 Capsula concept and the 1998 Structura. The name Twenty Twenty recalls the way of reading the year 2020 in the English language: in fact, with this car it was intended to show what an Aston Martin of the near future might look like. The structure was produced entirely of aluminum alloy and incorporates the housings for the outer panels of the actual body, made of carbon fiber and plastic material. These panels do not flank each other, but leave clear spaces so that the visual effect offered by the exposed areas of the body can also be appreciated. In this way, the structure of the Twenty Twenty also becomes a styling element. A sturdy roll bar, also made of aluminum, is mounted at the rear of the passenger compartment. In contrast to many concept cars, the Twenty Twenty is a fully functioning car: its heart is the 5935 cm³ Aston Martin V12, with maximum power raised to 500 hp.

It has been produced in various countries worldwide, and its platform was also used in the Siena sedan, the Palio Weekend station wagon, the Palio Adventure crossover and the Strada light pick-up truck. The chassis was designed on the basis of that of the European Fiat Uno, with various improvements such as structural stiffeners, suspension modifications (in the Weekend version, instead of the wishbone layout adopted as from the Uno by the sedan version of the Palio, the pulled-arm layout used by the Punto was adopted) and inclusion of Power Steering (not included in the basic versions).