Great Wall Motors has at last revealed more detail about its hero petrol V6 engine due to debut in upcoming Tank-branded SUVs.
The new V6 engine will feature twin variable geometry twin-turbochargers and will have a capacity of 2993cc.
The V6, dubbed 6Z30, will have a 60-degree cylinder bank angle and use a 11.0:1 compression ratio. It’s been designed specifically for use in off-road vehicles.
It also uses both direct and port fuel-injection.
Maximum torque is 500Nm which will be available from just 1500rpm, with max power of 260kW arriving at 6000rpm.
48V mild-hybrid versions will have maximum torque of 550Nm.
The engine will feature a high-strength crank-connecting rod system which improves engine reliability in all-terrain and all-environment scenarios.
The unit is all-alloy and will be mated exclusively to a nine-speed torque converter automatic transmission developed in-house.
It will be the first longitudinal nine-speed transmission to be developed and built in China, and could supplant the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic currently used in GWM products like the GWM Ute.
Most importantly, the engine and transmission setup will support a hybrid system, with the transmission able to house a 125kW/425Nm electric motor. The ladder-frame platform it sits within will also be capable of housing a battery pack.
With hybrid assistance, the powertrain can produce up to 750Nm of torque. The hybrid V6 was first announced with the reveal of the full-sized GWM X Cannon concept.
Great Wall has said that the engine will be Euro 6b compliant in standard form or Euro 6d compliant as a plug-in hybrid.
The company is investing significantly in developing a petrol V6 in a time when internal combustion engines are being placed to the side.
Tank 600 
Tank 800 concept
It’s expected the Toyota Prado-sized Tank 600 and LandCruiser-sized Tank 800 will be the first models to receive the new turbo V6, alongside the GWM X Cannon.
The Tank 600 is expected to debut at the 2021 Chengdu motor show in August. GWM’s fledgling Tank brand has already revealed the larger 800 in concept form at this year’s Shanghai motor show.
GWM has big plans for 2022 and that includes sending more cars to Australian shores.
One of these is expected to be the Tank 300, another body-on-frame off-roader. It’s smaller than the Toyota Prado and the Haval H9.
GWM Australia has already brought in some left-hand drive Tank 300s for testing and promotional purposes.
It says it has run focus groups through both cars, and presented the business case to head office to get both vehicles here. A launch is expected in 2022.
Unlike the larger Tank models, it uses a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 167kW of power and 387Nm of torque. It’s mated to the ZF eight-speed auto.
In addition to Tank models, which may or may not wear the Haval name in Australia, GWM is also looking at bringing Ora-branded electric vehicles to Australia.
The company says that, given its current dealer order rate and forward estimates, it’s targeting 18,000 sales here this calendar year – 240 per cent up from its 5244 sales last year, which in turn was up from just 3108 sales in 2019.
GWM’s Australian national sales company is seen as a key part of its global plans: as a lucrative sales and profit opportunity for one, but also as a test market of sorts for further global expansion.
Founder and Chairman Jack Wey, who owns 54 per cent of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company, wants a global footprint.
More than a million of GWM’s 1.16 million global sales last year were in China, but it’s targeting four million sales globally by 2025.
