GWM South Africa Welcomes The GWM Tank 300 To Its Universe
GWM South Africa Welcomes The GWM Tank 300 To Its Universe. GWM South Africa has added a shining new star to its universe of models with the new GWM TANK 300. The new model not only introduces the GWM TANK brand but with it a new world of pure-bred off-road performance and, as is commonplace for all GWM models, an unmatched level of luxury, design, and styling.
“GWM TANK is already a well-established off-road lifestyle brand in China and in world markets such as Australia, where owners share our love for overlanding, the great outdoors and for finding roads less travelled. “That is why we are very confident that the GMW TANK 300 and future GWM Tank models will find a welcome home among South Africans,” says Bianca van Staden, the Head of Marketing, Brand and PR of GWM South Africa.
“As the first model in the new GWM TANK range, the GWM TANK 300 must firmly establish the range’s credentials of luxury, true off-road performance and durability. And it does so with aplomb,” says Van Staden.
GWM draws on its global network of design, development and testing centres to invest thousands of hours into the creation of the model platform. It then introduces the model to its large local market and considers user feedback to further improve the model before exporting it to its main markets such as Australia, South Africa, Europe and South America.
“Our engineers accepted nothing as sacred in designing the GWM TANK 300. We relooked every aspect of a true off-road model to create a vehicle where durability does not mean you sacrifice design, off-road capability does not mean that you have to compromise on on-road driving comfort and utility does not come at the expense of luxury,” says Van Staden.
The GWM TANK 300 is built on a proprietary and very strong ladder frame chassis. Indeed, this chassis and bodyshell use mostly 1500 Mpa steel for greater rigidity and crash-test performance. Mounted to the ladder frame is a modern multi-link rear suspension and a durable double-wishbone front suspension for greater on-road comfort that does not impede the off-road capabilities.
The high-strength passenger cell is fitted to the top of the ladder frame with special rubber mountings that absorb road noise and vibration for a truly luxurious driving experience inside the cabin. Multiple towing and recovery hooks are fitted directly to the chassis, and the drivetrain is anchored with special dynamic mounts and a balancer shaft to contribute to the in-cabin comfort.
The GWM TANK 300 cuts a unique profile that shows it is made-for-purpose.GWM designers created a smoothed-out angular profile that tips the hat to off-road vehicles from the past yet stands firmly in a modern environment.
This is also true of the newly designed TANK logo fitted on the bright black grille. Consisting of two capital letters – a “T” and a “U”, the new logo symbolises the brand’s focus on Technology and modern Trends, while never losing focus on the User (phonetically also referring to You) and the fact that the brand seeks to Unite fans of the great outdoors.
Some of the stand-out design features include the round LED headlamps that are dissected by bright LED daytime running lights. An off-road front bumper with integrated LED fog lamps exposes the Michelin HEV SUV tyres and aids technical off-road driving, while the clamshell-style bonnet with its large power bulge becomes a confident statement of the vehicle’s capabilities.
The side profile frames off the large alloy wheels with black fender extensions. The fenders are connected with a black running board. The door handles, large side mirrors and roof rails are treated in a similar black finish. At the back, there are squared LED tail lamps, a door-mounted spare wheel – also fitted with a full-sized alloy wheel – and a square rear bumper with integrated tow bar mounting bracket and 12Volt power plug. The rear luggage door is hydraulically assisted, and a spare wheel cover is standard.
All versions of the GWM TANK 300 feature luxuries that are unmatched both in quantity and at the model price. These include:
• Dual 12.3” high-definition LCD screenThe conjoined screens form one large screen that offers a fully customisable instrument cluster and a large infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The screen also displays the images from the various external cameras and offers full control over the vehicle’s comfort and off-road systems.
• Ambient lightingThe Super Luxury models feature a choice of 7 ambient colours, while the Ultra Luxury version has no less than 64 ambient colours to choose from.
• Multi-function, multi-adjustable controlsAll models feature a steering wheel that is adjustable in all directions, has controls for the infotainment, phone and cruise-control systems, feature paddle shifters for the automatic transmission.
Said Van Staden: “While we can boast about the incredible list of features and safety equipment in the GWM TANK 300, we are mostly proud of its pricing and value proposition. With a starting price of less than R750 000, the GWM TANK 300 is truly in a class of its own.”
The GWM TANK 300 range will comprise the following models:
• Tank 300 2.0T 8AT 4×4 Super Luxury R725 950 (Available Late Q1)
• Tank 300 2.0T 8AT 4×4 Ultra Luxury R775 950 (Available Late Q1)
• Tank 300 2.0T 9HAT 4×4 Super Luxury R851 950
