GWM appears to be testing the towing capabilities of its new flagship ute, which is set to beat rival brands to offering hybrid powertrains in Australia.
Bathroom brothers took these photos of GWM Alpha Cannonappears to be undergoing final testing in Melbourne before its expected launch in mid-2024.
It was towing a Jayco Journey Outback caravan, which had a tare weight of 1940kg.
According to government approval documents, the Cannon Alpha will have a braked towing capacity of 3500kg – a first for a GWM vehicle in Australia.
Present GWM Uteclosely related to the Cannon Alpha, has a maximum braked towing capacity of 3000kg.
These documents also suggest it will offer a choice of turbo-diesel or hybrid powertrains.
The latter will see GWM beat Ford and Toyota to offer hybrids in local showrooms – Ford’s plug-in hybrid forest ranger not until early 2025, while Toyota is larger tundra Not officially sold yet.
According to government approval documents, the hybrid has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine that produces 180 horsepower at 5,500 rpm, but no torque or total output is listed. system capacity.
However, we do know that this powertrain in the Tank 300 features a 180kW/380Nm turbocharged petrol engine combined with a 78kW/268Nm electric motor for a total system output of 258kW and 615Nm.
The Cannon Alpha’s turbo-diesel engine is more powerful than that of the GWM Ute, which is a larger 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with 135kW power at 3600 rpm and 480Nm of torque, up from 120kW GWM Ute’s 2.0 liter figure.
It also has an extra gear with drive sent to all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission. It also has a 48V mild hybrid system.
The filing does not mention the other engine offered for the Cannon Alpha (also known as the Shanhai Cannon) overseas: a 3.0-litre V6 turbocharged petrol engine, rated at 260kW and 500Nm.
The Cannon Alpha is 5445mm long, 1991mm wide and 1924mm tall on a 3350mm wheelbase. Overall, that makes it just 30mm longer than the GWM Ute, so it’s still significantly smaller than full-size pickups like the GWM Ute. Ford F-150.
It has 224mm ground clearance and rides on 18-inch rear wheels with disc brakes.
The tare weight is 2432kg with the diesel engine and 2526kg with the hybrid engine. Both variants have a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 3310kg.
GWM has confirmed examples of the new ute are here for testing, with Car expert Follow an example in Melbourne has an unusual separate rear door.
The company also offers in China a smart multi-lid bed divider, which divides the tray into three separate sections.
The new ute is expected to be introduced as a more premium lifestyle ute compared to the GWM Ute. That’s because instead of a leaf spring rear suspension, the Cannon Alpha uses a multi-link coil spring rear axle and double wishbones up front.
In China at least, it is offered with electronic front and rear differential locks and a full suite of active safety and driver assistance features.
These include highway driving assist, front and rear cross-traffic assist, blind-spot monitoring and safe exit warning.
There’s a standard 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, surround-view camera and electric tailgate, and depending on variant, there’s also a head-up display, panoramic sunroof, park assist Semi-autonomous vehicle, heated steering wheel, front and rear cordless phone. charger, heated, ventilated, massaging and power-adjustable front seats.
Cannon Alpha will top the local range alongside Tank 500a competitor uses a hybrid engine for Toyota LandCruiser Prado The deadline is the second quarter of 2024.
