GWM Ute tough truck to rival Ford Ranger Raptor

It’s a question of when, not if, the GWM Ute will feature a mud-slinging tough truck model to sit atop its dual-cab 4x4 ute range.

The Chinese car giant is actively developing a Ford Ranger Raptor and Nissan Navara Warrior rival, evidenced by several hero ute concepts that were shown at the recent 2021 Shanghai motor show.

And the jacked-up GWM Baja Snake is a perfect illustration of what’s on the agenda.

“Is there room at the top end of the GWM Ute range for something a bit more off-road focused, a bit more performance focused? I think there is, yes,” said GWM Australia’s marketing chief Steve Maciver.

While he cautioned that the Baja Snake was still a concept, Maciver said “that sort of Raptor-style ute, something a bit more aggressive, is something we absolutely are looking at”.

Like the Ranger Raptor, the Baja Snake comes with nitrogen-filled Fox shocks, upgraded springs with a two-inch lift kit plus Toyo all-terrain tyres.

Visual upgrades include pumped wheel-arches, a power bulge on the bonnet with twin air intakes, a new-look metal lower bumper that doubles as a bash plate and a new-look ‘snake fang’ grille.

A snorkel, roof racks and a large ‘sail plane’ rear sports bar are joined by Baja Snake stickers to round out the look, while the cabin gets orange highlights across the leather seats, dashboard, doors and steering wheel.

The concept truck is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine (140kW/360Nm), but a GWM Ute flagship model would almost certainly be powered by the same 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine (120kW/400Nm) found in regular models.

That engine has just been updated with a software ‘flash’ just four months after being introduced, showing how quickly the brand is responding to consumer feedback.

There’s a bigger 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine (135kW/480Nm) offered in the Tank 300 that could make its way into the ute, and there are more diesel powertrains in the pipeline.

“There are other powertrain options under development, not necessarily available to us as of yet. As and when, or if and when they come on stream, we’ll certainly have a look at them,” said Maciver.

Currently priced between $33,990 and $40,990 drive-away, the new-generation GWM Ute is one of the most affordable dual-cab 4x4 utes in its class, so it stands to reason a tough truck version like the Baja Snake would undercut the likes of the Ford Ranger Raptor (from $77,690 plus on-road costs), the incoming new Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior (from an estimated $68,000) and the Toyota HiLux Rugged X (from $69,990).

“We want to get the core dual-cab ute line-up right first. Get some volume in there, build some awareness in that GWM Ute brand, and if we can do that I think there’s opportunities beyond that for a more performance-based truck for sure,” said Maciver.

“Not having that performance lead ute isn’t harming our sales today. However, if we were to be able to get a car in about 12 to 18 months’ time, there’s no doubt it would have customer appeal and it would give us a halo effect for the rest of the range.”