Retro-styled Haval Xianglong has been renamed Raptor in China. Image: carnewschina.com
Although uncovered for the first time last month, Great Wall Motors (GWM)-owned Haval has re-released its new off-road focused SUV under the name Raptor.
Known internally as the B26, and previously called the Xianglong, which directly translates as ‘flying lizard’ in Mandarin, the new moniker, submitted to and published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, is likely to attract the attention of Ford, should sales be expanded outside of the People’s Republic.
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Not dissimilar in appearance to Haval’s own first generation Big Dog that debuted three years ago, the boxy Raptor forms of part of the automaker’s so-called Dragon range of SUVs with styling not only from its sibling, but also the Land Rover Defender and even the Ford Bronco.
According to CarNewsChina, the controversy surrounding the newcomer’s name is likely to escalate further as apart from Raptor, Haval has also submitted applications for the nomenclatures Thunderbolt Dog, Big Dog Pro and arguably the most contentious, Veyron used by Bugatti from 2005 to 2015.
Little changed from the Xianglong otherwise, the Raptor reportedly rides on Haval’s now widely used Lemon platform with dimensions of 4 680 mm in overall length, a wheelbase of 2 738 mm, height of 1 916 mm and width of 1 822 mm.
Confirmed to ride on 18 or 19-inch alloy wheels, the Raptor is expected to offer two powertrain options in its home market; a plug-in hybrid comprising a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine combined with an 80 kW electric motor at the front and a more powerful 150 kW located on the rear axle.
A configuration that falls under GWM’s Hi-4 or Hybrid Intelligent Four-Wheel-Drive system, the total system output wasn’t revealed, though it has been confirmed the combustion engine is capable of delivering of 123 kW on its own.
Hooked to a two-speed version of the Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT), the Raptor has a reported claimed range of 105 km and besides the turbocharged derivative, will offer an entry-level model at a later stage without forced assistance, plus a 10 kW reduction in power for the front electric motor.
Still expected to go on-sale in the second of the year, the Haval Raptor, for now, remains a China only model and while GWM is still to confirm any exportation plans, chances are it will have to opt for another name in order to avoid unfavourable attention from Dearborn or from Bugatti’s parent company, Volkswagen.
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