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

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Great Wall is cooking up something special.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
13 Apr 2021
2 min read

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.

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. 

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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