GWM is set to unveil its first supercar as it looks to muscle in on Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren turf.
Company chairman Wei Jiajun posted an image of what appears to be a low-slung, two-door sports car on social media to celebrate the automaker’s 35th anniversary.
The vehicle under a silk cover sits below the waist height of the executives surrounding it, with a low bonnet and arching rear silhouette suggesting it has a mid-mounted powertrain.
To be launched under a new ‘super luxury’ sub-brand called Confidence Auto, development of a GWM supercar was confirmed by GWM chief technology officer Wu Huixiao earlier this year.
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The confirmation came with the bold promise it would be better than the Ferrari SF90, the Italian brand’s first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) supercar.
In Australia, the SF90 has a list price of $846,888, meaning a price tag of more than $1 million once on-road costs are added.
Car News China reports the GWM supercar will be priced at $US140,000 ($A211,600), to be cheaper than both the SF90 and the $A398,975 Yangwang U9 electric supercar made by rival BYD.
The flagship Yangwang – a brand under consideration for Australia – uses four electric motors to give the electric U9 a 960kW output with a 2.36-second 0-100km/h claim and top speed of 309km/h.
It’s not the only Chinese supercar, with GAC’s Hyptec brand offering the SSR with a 900kW/1230Nm tri-motor electric powertrain that gives it a claimed 0-100km/h time of as low as 1.9 seconds.
ABOVE: Hyptec SSR, Yangwang U9
Ferrari’s SF90 uses a mid-mounted 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine and a trio of electric motors to produce 735kW/800Nm, enabling a 2.5-second 0-100km/h time and 340km/h top speed.
GWM showed off a 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine of its own earlier this year, developed entirely in-house and designed as part of a PHEV powertrain.
The V8 was originally destined for a large pickup truck to compete with the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 in the US.
Those plans have been put on hold given the import tariffs introduced on Chinese-made vehicles by US President Donald Trump.
While GWM has previously suggested the engine’s physical dimensions ruled it out for the supercar, it could be repurposed given the idling of the V8 US truck project.
GWM International vice-president James Yang told Australia media in Shanghai earlier this year the new V8 was under consideration for several models to be sold in China and export markets, including Australia.
“For the past three-four years we have been working on this V8, including lab as well as real-world testing,” said Mr Wang.
Mr Wang also suggested the V8 is under consideration for GWM models, including the Tank 300 off-roader.
MORE: GWM reveals its first V8 – and the hardcore Tank 300 Hooke off-roader
MORE: Inside Chinese GWM’s plan to take on American pickups… potentially even in the US
