Latest news with #GWMTank
The South African
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
World no. 1 Jordy Smith powers to VICTORY in Australia
World no. 1 Jordy Smith showed all the class and experience of 18-years on the Championship Tour to secure his second event victory in 2025. The prize on finals day in Margaret River, Western Australia, would be immense if world no. 1 Jordy Smith could hit his marks early … Solidifying no. 1 in the world, and a brand-new GWM Tank SUV for securing the 'Aussie Treble.' First, the 37-year-old Durbanite had to dispatch Crosby Colapinto in his semi-final heat. Something he did with astute surfing in dropping swell on Australia's west coast. Rather than wait for inconsistent set waves disrupted by strong off-shore winds, world no. 1 Jordy Smith set to work on the inside. He caught multiple waves to build up a winning heat total, while his competitor sat rooted out the back, only surfing one scoring wave. Smith sets to work on a larger set wave at Margaret River, Western Australia in the final against Griffin Colapinto. Image: World Surf League Then it was onto the final with another San Clemente phenom, Griffin Colapinto. Arguably the form surfer of the competition – scoring a perfect 10 in the quarterfinals – Colapinto would be no pushover in a man-on-man heat. However, world no. 1 Jordy Smith clicked into high gear and dominated the exchanges (watch the highlights below). There is no denying that world no. 1 Jordy Smith is surfing the best he ever has in his long career. He is able to combine shrewd heat IQ with his signature power surfing that always looks controlled and elegant, no matter the conditions. Video: World Surf League on YouTube Victory for world no. 1 Jordy Smith cements his position atop the WSL Championship Tour rankings. He currently sits on 36 130 points, with the next best surfer, Brazil's Italo Ferreira, on 31 290. Rather shrewdly, Smith opted not to surf in the leader's yellow jersey today. But he almost certainly will wear it in Lower Trestles, California, next month. The rest of the 2025 WSL Championship Tour sees four stops that will suit the powerful surfing of world no. 1 Jordy Smith. The top five competitors on the ranking will battle it out in Fiji for the world title. The remaining stops are: June 9-17 – Trestles Pro (USA) June 21-29 – Vivo Rio Pro (Brazil) July 11-20 – J-Bay Open (SA) August 7-16 – Tahiti Pro (Tahiti) August 27-September 4 – WSL Finals Fiji (Fiji) Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Business Mayor
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Business Mayor
The World's Newest Twin-Turbo V8 Comes From The Last Place You'd Expect
Chinese automakers might be getting the most attention for their electric vehicles, but as Great Wall Motor has just shown at Auto Shanghai, the country's engineers are just as capable when it comes to developing and building gas power. GWM has just announced a brand-new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, an engine bound for its largest Tank brand SUVs as well as for cars. An engine it calls a 'secret weapon in luxury markets,' where it could go after similarly sized engines in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. GWM's hot-vee engine, where the turbos are mounted between the cylinder banks, looks the part. It also looks shockingly narrow, at least compared with other current V8 engines we've seen. That likely gives it the ability to put the engine and its long automatic transmission in more places and more vehicles. Big V8 Could Power Luxury Cars And Off-Roaders The automaker reportedly has two different plans for this V8, and they're both very different. The first is to create a new luxury brand under the GWM family. reports that the new brand will sit above its existing Wey premium brand and that it could be called Confidence Auto. A brand name that may sound good at home, but doesn't exactly inspire confidence with us. GWM's second plan is the more interesting of the two. It's going to put this in a Tank. Not just any tank, but future models of the GWM Tank off-roaders. Tank currently sells four rugged off-road SUVs, the 300, 400, 500, and 700. The names denote size, not engine displacement, and they include retro-stylish SUVs and large luxury off-road competitors. They're also largely copies of competitors like the Toyota Land Cruiser. Drive reported that GWM's right-drive market head James Yang said, 'This [V8] is something that is definitely under consideration, and for right-hand-drive markets, it's definitely something we are still considering.' The Tank 300, which is the model most likely to get the V8 according to the report, is sort of a Chinese take on the modern Bronco. Retro styling combined with real 4×4 drive. It has locking differentials and a low-range transfer case. It also has options the Bronco doesn't, including hybrid and diesel power. V8 Will Be Offered As PHEV While we assume that this large-displacement V8 is going to be quite powerful, GWM didn't specify its projected output. It did say, though, that the engine will get a bit of a boost. It will be offered as a PHEV model, utilizing the V8 only when the battery runs low or when towing. In a line that makes all of us a little happy, Tank brand VP Gu Yukun said at the show that 'We still believe that new energy [hybrid/electric power] cannot [replace] the V8 engine.' Related The Chinese motor industry is exploding, and venturing into new markets. But their car culture do differ on key aspects with that of the West. This is not GWM's first eight-cylinder, but it is the company's first meant for automotive. Strangely, the original eight from the brand was a flat eight-cylinder. Designed not to go into a car or an SUV or even a heavy truck, but in fact meant for a motorcycle. GWM called the flat-eight the only eight-cylinder motorcycle in the world, and it displaced around 2.0 liters. GWM
