Great Wall's secret super ute! Chinese brand partnering with Shelby to create the ultimate Ford Ranger Raptor fighter

Great Wall is cooking up something special, with the Chinese brand partnering with iconic US brand Shelby to create Ranger Raptor-fighting super ute that will be called the Baja Snake, according to reports out of Europe.

Set to be revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show later this month, the new truck will be the brand's first true foray into Ranger Raptor territory, with the early sketches appearing to show beefed-up off-road suspension and a tough new look. The skecthes were revealed by Europe-based journalist Greg Kable.

Exactly what will be powering it remains something of a mystery, but we'd expect a sizeable step up from the brand's 2.0-litre diesel that lives in the regular GWM Ute family. With Shelby's input, the opportunities are huge, up to and including a thumping V8 engine. Shelby, of course, is also the producers of the Super Snake, which makes use of Ford's Coyote 5.0-litre V8, only tuned to produce a whopping 825kW.

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Either way, you'd expect to see Great Wall in Australia's hand waving in the air for the new ute, and it would give the brand a serious rival to cars like the Ranger Raptor and incoming GR HiLux. That said, the local arm is yet to confirm the news. 

"We’re not in a position to comment on future product other than to say that we continue to work with our Head Office colleagues to explore options for widening the GWM range here in Australia," says GWM spokesperson Steve Maciver.

"Suffice to say that if we can make the business case stack up for any new products that might be on the drawing board, then we’ll look to make them available to buyers Down Under."

The news follows the unveiling of the Black Bullet Overlanding Concept (pictured), which is a modified version of the brand's P Series ute, and hinted at Great Wall's vision for a rougher, tougher ute.