SPY PICS: GWM Shanhai Cannon spotted in Sydney

Our photographers captured these exclusive spy shots of a pre-production GWM Shanhai Cannon being tested next to Sydney Airport late yesterday, but GWM-Haval Australia cautions this is not a sure sign of an imminent local release for the big new Chinese ute.

Wrapped in camouflage, devoid of its usual brash production-spec grille and fitted with huge sailplane sports bars, it’s unlikely too many people will have identified the big rig as it made its way through Botany and Mascot last night, but there was certainly no missing it as it sculked around in the fading light.

“We do indeed have a pre-production Shanhai ute here in Australia undergoing local testing,” GWM-Haval Australia marketing and communications boss Steve Maciver told carsales.

“We’ve said before that this model is under serious consideration for Australia and that remains the case.

“It’s not uncommon for us to test potential new additions to the range locally, before making the final decision on whether to bring them to market.”

The GWM Shanhai Cannon debuted at last year’s Chengdu motor show and was quickly confirmed as being high on the wish list of the Chinese car-maker’s Australian subsidiary, due to its increased size and opulence compared to the existing GWM Ute, not to mention its significantly punchier powertrains.

Shown initially in petrol guise, the Shanhai is offered in China with the choice of either a 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 or a 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, which pump out 260kW/500Nm and 135kW/480Nm respectively.

The diesel isn’t far behind Australia’s most popular utes when it comes to torque, but is well down in terms of kiloWatts given the new Mitsubishi Triton will up its game to 150kW. However, power output does at least match challenger offerings like the SsangYong Musso and builds on the standard GWM Ute’s 120kW.

By contrast, the V6 petrol engine would be unique in Australia unless you count the rabid 292kW/583Nm 3.0-litre V6-powered Ford Ranger Raptor, or the 222kW/452Nm 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol Volkswagen Amarok Adventura TSI452, but neither of these utes can be deemed direct competitors given their differing intents and $80,000-plus price tags.

Both power units drive all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission and a BorgWarner 4x4 system.

Word on street is the spied development vehicle was actually a diesel, which shows GWM-Haval Australia is doing its homework in one of the world’s biggest and most profitable ute markets.

The company has given no indication what a local Shanhai range might look like, but carsales understands the enlarged pick-up will ditch its native nameplate in a similar fashion to the GWM Ute, which is known as the GWM Poer in China.

The presence of a driver-side snorkel and the aforementioned sports bars suggest a flagship ‘tough-truck’ version could also be in the works, and the plot thickens with what looks like the same (but wider) steel front bumper as seen on the recently-released Cannon-XSR.

Of course, these components may have been tacked on to help throw sleuths off the scent, but we can’t imagine GWM would go to so much trouble to disguise a vehicle that many readers already know will be sold Down Under at some point.

GWM HQ has previously confirmed there will be Shanhai production slots available for the Australian market as of next quarter, meaning it should only be a matter of months before the premium Chinese pick-up is officially confirmed for local release ahead of a 2024 launch. 

As in China, the GWM Shanhai will inevitably be positioned above the smaller GWM Ute, which is currently priced between $35,990 and $52,990 drive-away, so pricing could start somewhere around the $50,000 mark.

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