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China's Toyota LandCruiser Prado fighter: Meet the Great Wall Tank 500

The Great Wall Tank 500 has been revealed. (image credit AutoHome)

China's take on the Toyota LandCruiser Prado has been revealed with a new name, with the Great Wall Tank 500 unveiled at the Chengdu Motor Show.

The world's auto media was convinced that the new model - previewed in sketches and spy pics - would be called the Tank 600, but the model has been issued the 500 nomenclature, and is clearly designed to sit above the just-revealed Tank 400 in terms of luxury and comfort.

Billed as the answer to both the LandCruiser Prado, and even the Lexus LX series, Great Wall says its Tank 500 is in the "business of luxury off-road".

It lives up that claim with specs of 5070mm in length, 1934mm in height and 1905mm in width, with approach, departure and break over angles of 29.6 degrees, 24 degrees and 22 degrees. Wading depth is reportedly 800mm, too.

It's also fitted with 4WD, of course, as well as Great Wall's Terrain Management System.

Under the bonnet is Great Wall's 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 that will produce a sizeable 260kW and 500Nm, paired with a nine-speed automatic gearbox.

So that's the off-road part covered, what about the luxury? Images from the show reveal a leather-soaked interior, including a giant central screen, leather seats and brushed-metal highlights.

What we don't know yet is wether the Tank 500 will make it to Australia, but we do know the brand here does have its eye on the Tank brand more generally, with the smaller 300 looking more and more likely, and even recently completing testing here.

So watch this space.

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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