GWM reveals new 3.0-litre diesel bakkie engine with more power and torque than Hilux, D-Max

The new 3.0-litre turbodiesel motor will be exclusive to the P500 and Tank 500 models.

If you’re going to take the bakkie wars seriously, you’re going to have to deliver the power and torque where it matters the most, and that is exactly what GWM appears to be doing with its new 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine.

Revealed in Australia this week, the Chinese carmaker’s new 3.0-litre motor is set to become the most powerful non-hybrid four-cylinder turbodiesel engine on the market.

It produces 170kW of power and 620Nm of torque, which is 35kW and 140Nm more than the current 2.4-litre unit. This means it comfortably out-powers the Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 (150kW, 500Nm) and Isuzu D-Max 3.0 (140kW, 450Nm); it even delivers more torque than the 600Nm Ford Ranger 3.0 V6, while coming close to its 184kW power output.

The new engine is paired with GWM’s in-house-developed nine-speed automatic transmission.