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Off-road extreme GWM Tank 330 leaks in China, but …
The step-up from the Tank 300 will be limited to 1 000 units, all of which have already been accounted for.
Small but prominent exterior changes sets the Tank 330 apart from the regular Tank 300 aesthetically. Image: MIIT via carnewschina.com.
With sales of the standard Tank 300 due to start in South Africa later this year after a prolonged delay, the Great Wall Motors’ (GWM) subsidiary’s new flagship variant, and most powerful, has turned-up in a series of patent images and documents in China.
Six second sell-out
A separate marque within the GWM stable, but set to be marketed as the GWM Tank 300 similar to the all-electric Ora 03, the Tank 330 will reportedly be a limited edition model restricted to 1 000 units and only in the People’s Republic.
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The result of a crowdfunding initiative that required interest buyers to fork out a deposit of 20 000 yuan (R53 375), which took a reported six seconds, the Tank 330 is, therefore, already sold-out in spite of costing 350 000 yuan (R934 070), 117 000 yuan (R312 246) more than the conventional petrol Tank 300.
Based on the images and information submitted to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, carnewschina.com reports the Tank 330 as being dimensionally unchanged from the 300, but with improved off-road ability as a result of the 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in all-terrain tyres, unspecified suspension alterations and a 200 mm wading depth increase to 900 mm.
Petrol-only V6
Building on the Tank 300 Frontier Limited Edition sold solely in China, the Tank 330’s easy-to-spot exterior differences comprise steel front and rear bumpers and side-steps, chunkier plastic wheel arches, a roof rack, vents integrated into the bonnet and a unique matte grey exterior colour.
While no images or details of the interior were disclosed, the inclusion of a red V6 badge on the tailgate, as well as the mentioned vents, provides the 330 with its biggest difference over the 300, namely the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre engine shared with the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado-rivalling Tank 500.
An engine also used in the petrol version GWM Shanhai Cannon bakkie, the bent-six sends 265kW/500Nm to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Similar to the 300, the 330 comes standard with a low range transfer case, three locking differentials and a number of selectable driving modes.
Only for China
Although sold-out as mentioned, deliveries of the Tank 330 is also expected to start later this quarter with seemingly no chance of GWM extending its production beyond the 1 000 units for key export markets.
Added information from carsales.com.au.
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