BYD Shark sharpens its teeth for Ford Ranger Raptor sprint record

Confirmation that the BYD Shark bakkie is heading for South Africa means the writing might be on the wall for the long established, and seemingly untouchable, turbocharged petrol and diesel, double cab performance hierarchy.

The Chinese electrified revolution started already with the GWM P500 hybrid having just taken the long-standing sprint title away from the original VW Amarok 3.0-TDI V6 Extreme.

Raptor’s crown under threat

The BYD Shark bakkie, a plug-in hybrid double cab, will be going straight for the King’s crown in looking to knock the Ford Ranger Raptor off its perch.

When the 190kW turbodiesel Amarok ran a time of 8.14 seconds from 0 to 100km/h back in 2021, many thought that it was game over. There was no Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max or Nissan Navara that could even get close. In fact, still nothing on offer from them today can get close.

But then Ford released its insane 292kW V6 twin-turbo petrol Ranger Raptor in 2023. This bakkie blasted to 100 km/h from a standing start in a mere 6.90 seconds, redefining what a fast bakkie was all about. Game over. Or was it?

ALSO READ: BYD Shark shows its jaws to Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux

GWM P500 enters fray

Last week the 255kW GWM P500 that makes use of a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine combined with hybrid assistance from a battery powered electric motor hit 100km/h in 7.76 seconds during The Citizen Motoring‘s test at Gerotek. A time good enough to move the Amarok out what has been a rock-solid second spot since the arrival of the Raptor.

A little anomaly that is worth mentioning is that the P500’s sibling, the Tank 500 tunning the same hardware, offers a launch control function. This allows the SUV to build some boost before jumping off the line. But strangely enough, the GWM P500 ffers no such help, and the time you see here is by just hoofing the go pedal.

I did do a de facto launch control run, where I held the GWM P500 on the brake pedal, and then let it go, and the time dropped to 7.22 seconds. It’s not how normal owners would drive their R1-million bakkies, and that’s why I don’t do it. But this time achieved is a clear indication that electrification is going to be a game changer. Enter BYD Shark…

Beware the bite of the BYD Shark

This bakkie runs a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine matted to a 29.6-kWh battery that drives an electric motor mounted on the rear axle. The combined power here is a Ford Ranger Raptor bettering 320 kW. And this has the Chinese claiming a 0-100 km/h time of just 5.7 seconds!

Time will tell if this is the case. When we get our hands on one to test, but at least we know why they are so keen to bring it here.