Previously reported as being a six-cylinder, the new oil-burner will be a four-cylinder with less power but more torque than the six-cylinder in the Ranger and Amarok.
The P500 will become the first model to receive GWM’s new 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine. Picture: GWM
After its world debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April, Great Wall Motors (GWM) South Africa has started teasing the arrival of its eagerly awaited new 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine.
Four, not six
Confirmed not only for the P500, but also the Tank 300, the unit, despite previous speculative reports, will not be a six-cylinder aimed at the bent-six Lion mill used in the Ford Ranger and its twin, the Volkswagen Amarok.
Instead, it will be a four-cylinder similar to Isuzu’s 4JJ3-TCX that powers the D-Max and MU-X, but with considerably more power and torque at 170kW/620Nm versus 140kW/450Nm.
Comparatively, the unit develops 14kW less but 20Nm more than the Ranger and Amarok’s V6, while also being 35kW/140Nm up on the 2.4-litre oil-burner that currently serves as GWM’s most powerful diesel engine.
Diesel spelling the end of hybrid P500?
Announced back in March, the unit had originally been tipped for a 2027 market arrival, before being fast-forwarded to 2026 after its Beijing reveal.
Seemingly, its arrival spells the end for the 2.0-litre plug-in hybrid unit that received approval for the P500 last year.
As with its 2.4-litre sibling, the 3.0-litre will be paired to a ZF-sourced nine-speed automatic gearbox, and reportedly only comes with a four-wheel drive layout.
Stay tuned…
Based on the teaser posted by GWM South Africa on its Facebook page, the 3.0-litre will be allocated to the P500 for now, as evident by the hashtag #P500, with no reference to the Tank 500 being made.
At the same time, no official reveal date has been set, as the depiction of the P500 only comes with the caption “More Power Coming Soon”.
Given its mention now being official, expect more details to emerge soon, including whether it will produce the said amount of power and torque, or possibly less, based on South Africa’s diesel quality.
Price
For the moment, pricing is still unknown. However, expect it to be possibly positioned above the self-charging hybrid Ultra Luxury, which carries a price tag of R999 900.
By comparison, the 2.4-litre turbodiesel offers two trim levels, Luxury and Super Luxury, priced at R799 900 and R889 900 respectively.
