Not to mention the Changan Hunter K50 REEV and the GWM P500 HEV when it lands later this year as the country's most powerful bakkie.
‘We are excited to introduce state-of-the-art electric vehicles to our local range,’ says Karl-Heinz Göbel, CEO of JAC Motors South Africa. Picture: Supplied
Just the other day, BYD announced that the Shark 6 will now be offered with a 2.0 litre turbo petrol engine and be given a power boost from 321kW to 350kW.
This comprehensively outguns Ford’s Ranger Raptor with 292kW and GWM’s P500 HEV with 255kW. But already there is a new player about to disrupt the market.
Most powerful bakkie in SA
Like the BYD Shark 6 Performance, the JAC T9 PHEV runs a 2.0 litre turbo petrol engine that is said to produce 160kW of power and 370Nm of torque.
But thanks to a 31.2kWh lithium-ion battery that drives a pair of electric motors on the front and rear axle, power and torque on offer jump up.
The front motor can deliver 60kW and 150 Nm of continuous urge with a peak of 130kW and 300Nm on tap when required.
It is the same for the rear, where the motor produces 70kW and 150Nm, with a quoted peak of 150kW and 340Nm being available.
This in turn is claimed to produce a combined output of 360kW and 674Nm as per JAC Motors South Africa’s website.
It’s something worth noting, maybe. The Australian motoring websites list the output for the JAC T9 PHEV even higher at 385kW and a stump pulling 1 000Nm.
Go top of the time sheets
Given all of this, there is no reason to believe that the JAC T9 PHEV won’t go top of the time sheets when it comes time to test this bakkie.
This would mean that it would need to get to 100km/h in less than 5.66 seconds to dethrone the BYD Shark 6.
And get there in less than 6.90 seconds to 7.37 seconds to push the Ford Ranger Raptor and Changan Hunter K50 REEV off the podium. Watch this space…
Over 1 000km on a tank
The JAC T9 PHEV won’t just be about speed. Thanks to the electrical assistance, the claim is that one will be able to achieve 1 005km on a 77 litre tank of fuel.
With both AC charging at home and DC public fast charging being available, a pure EV range of 100km is also said to be possible.
Towing and off-road
The JAC T9 PHEV comes with a multi-link rigid axle rear suspension and Electronic Differential Locks on both axles for enhanced off-road capability.
The bakkie also offers a braked towing mass of 3 500kg making it more than capable of effortlessly towing off-road trailers, caravans and horseboxes.
