According to Great Wall Motor’s Chief Growth Officer, Li Ruifeng, the Tank 800 should unveil by the end of this year. The largest SUV yet from the GWM Tank brand, it will be the flagship model.
People often talk about China speed but the Tank 800 is by itself contributing to lifting the average significantly. The first time the car was seen was at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show and very little had been heard of the car since, until spy shots emerged earlier this year. Quite why the car has taken so long is difficult to know seeing as the Shanghai car looked near production ready. Spy shots of the screen show what the forthcoming Tank 800 will look like and it doesn’t seem significantly different to the car shown in 2021.
Like the Tank 700 Hi4-T which is currently the flagship model for the Tank brand the Tank 800 is likely to debut as a PHEV. Given that the Tank 800 will be an even bigger car the powertrain will likely be the same. This means that the Hi4-T plugin hybrid system is built around a 3.0T V6 engine rather than the 2.0T unit in the remainder of the Tank range. In the Tank 700 Hi4-T the engine is matched with a P2 electric motor giving a combined output of 385 kW and maximum torque of 800 Nm. The car uses a 9-speed automatic gearbox which has been optimized for hybrids. A single front mounted electric motor provides up to 120 kW of power and 400 Nm torque. Meanwhile the longitudinal petrol engine provides 265 kW power and 560 Nm torque. The battery will likely be the same Svolt 37.1 kWh unit as in the Tank 700 Hi4-T.
Currently the size of the Tank 800 is unknown but it is a large SUV and likely in the region of 5.2 meters long. Looking somewhat like an enlarged Tank 500 it struck a quite regal image at the 2021 Shanghai Show with its purple and gold paintwork. It is quite boxy and at the front there is circular LED design inside the headlight cluster and the grille has strong vertical bars.
Spy shots show the interior is similar to the Tank 500 and there is a dark brown interior together with wood trim. The car gets a head up display. The general layout of the center console is very similar to the Tank 500 with a chunky drive shifter and rotating drive mode selector. There seems to be a fair amount of chrome decoration inside and the interior seems spacious. It is possible that the Tank 800 is a six or seven seater, which would be a first for the brand.
Prices are likely to start at around 500,000 yuan (69,200 USD). With air suspension and double wishbone suspension both front and rear the Tank 800 should have reasonable off-road capability.
Source: Fast Technology
